PRIVATE EXCLUSIVE CAPPADOCIA TOURS
Byzantine Art in Cappadocia - The Fresco Tour
Discover the best frescoes in their natural settings in Cappadocia - on this one-day private tour. Your professionally-licensed English-speaking guide and driver will meet you at your area hotel to begin the tour. Our first visit is to the Saint Jean Church (Karşi Kilise) near Gulsehir - a village on the Red River. This cave church features two floors and is dated (by inscription) to the year 1212. The lower floor of the church is built in the shape of a cross and features simple designs and motifs in red ochre applied directly onto the rock. This lower area also houses a wine cellar, graves, water channels and living quarters. The upper floor contains vivid scenes of New Testament including the scene of the Last Judgment - a scene rarely found in Cappadocian churches. Our next stop is the well-hidden Karabulut & Sarnic churches - located in Zemi valley on a beautiful hiking path are the well-preserved two churches. The Sarnic Church was used as a water cistern and has frescoes depicting the Saints and the Karabulut Church offers vivid original paintings. After our short hike back to the vehicle, we will have a hearty lunch featuring local specialties. After lunch we will explore the magnificent St. John the Baptist Church in the ancient village of Cavusin. Perched on the side of the hill - we will walk among the ruins of the ancient city carved into the cliff-side until we reach the St. John the Baptist Church. This church is the largest cave church in Cappadocia - although, due to erosion it was made into three sections to support the structure in recent years. The paintings are quite faded but one can still make out the faint outlines of the once-exquisite scenes. Our last stop of the day is in the quaint "Pancarlik" valley (beet root valley) - the name comes from the bright pink-colored ripples in the landscape. The Pancar Church and Monastery is nestled into a lower valley surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills. The rock-cut cave church features the scenes from Christ's life from the New Testament. Above the church are living quarters and a little further down in the valley are the monastery cave structures to explore. After the tour we will bring you back to your hotel. If you are interested in more churches, please see our Goreme Open Air Museum.
Rate for the full-day private tour is 130 Euros per person (minimum 2 persons). For the single-supplement rate, please contact for more information. The tour includes a professionally-licensed, English*-speaking guide well versed in the knowledge of the churches, transportation in a modern vehicle with air-conditioning, lunch, all entrance fees and all taxes.
*Other languages may be available, please contact us for options.
Cappadocia Village Tour (1-day)
Our "day with the villagers" begins with your driver and guide meeting you at your area hotel. We will drive to the quaint, ancient village of Baskoy in the lower Cappadocia valleys. Cappadocia is traditionally a rural region with most villagers practicing sustenance farming - only with the recent influx of tourism has this changed in the more popular regions. The local village life in Baskoy retains the charm of traditional Cappadocia. The daily life of a traditional farmer in this region is summer is growing all foods (including seeds and nuts) to preserve for the long winter. Women traditionally make all their own butter, cheese, yogurt - as well as pastas and breads. Most homes in this region feature the rural 2-story home with the livestock under the house and the living quarter for the family above. In Cappadocia the homes generally have one large room where the entire family eats and sleeps together. Our tour will bring you to one family where you can experience the daily life - that could include making yogurt and butter, planting or harvesting, making syrups, etc. The experience is an authentic one - in that you will will be accompanying the local village woman (or man) in their daily life - not a staged class or situation. Most of our guests learn many new techniques for creative gardening, cooking, the art of making Turkish tea as well as getting to experience the hard-working, yet generous life and hospitality of the Cappadocia village family. The tour includes transportation to/from the village and your hotel, lunch with the village family and a translator well versed in the local culture and traditions. The tour is available year-round with spring, summer and autumn the more active times - in winter the daily activities center around staying warm, feeding the livestock and creating handcrafts (knitting, crocheting, sewing) for the coming year. It's an authentic experience and a way to immerse yourself into the local life for a day.
The rate is 175 Euros per person - with a minimum of 2 persons. For single rate supplement, please email us for information.
Hacibektas Tour
Hacibektas is a village located to the north in Cappadocia and is named for the Haci Bektas-i Veli, the famous Turkish-Islamic mystic, philosopher, and dervish. Revered in the Balkans and throughout Turkey - the village of Hacibektas is also a site of pilgrimage in August. The sense of peace and love imparted by the Bektashi followers can be felt throughout the grounds of the Open Palace and Museum. With the Ceremony of Confession, Bektashis vowed to be responsible "for their hands" (the things they do), "for their loins" (their desires), and "for their tongues" (what they say). This vow was a powerful and meaningful expression of the belief that one's should be channeled towards love and respect. Love of God and love of man lie at the foundation of Haci Bektas-i Veli's philosophy. Haci Bektas-i Veli was deeply influenced by the perfection, harmony, and order that he observed in the universe. We begin the tour at the Open Palace - not a palace at all it's more of a series of ancient rock-cut caves in an very unique valley with mushroom-shaped rock formations not typically seen elsewhere in Cappadocia. Next we visit the Saint Jean Church features two floors and is dated (by inscription) to the year 1212. The lower floor of the church is built in the shape of a cross and features simple designs and motifs in red ochre applied directly onto the rock. This lower area also houses a wine cellar, graves, water channels and living quarters. The upper floor contains vivid scenes of New Testament including the scene of the Last Judgment - a scene rarely found in Cappadocian churches. Afterwards we make our way to the Haci Bektas-i Veli Dervish Lodge (Museum). The courtyards and grounds of the museum offer interesting symbolic adornments and include a wishing tree, a holy water lion fountain and a cylindrical marble stone that is customary to embrace before entering the mausoleum - it is thought if one embraces with both arms it signifies that your heart is clean and your intentions are pure. Our next stop is a hearty lunch of local specialties. After lunch we will make our way back to the heart of Cappadocia driving along the Red River - the longest river in Turkey. Along the river is the town of Avanos - the ancient Hittite pottery village. For more than 4000 years the red and white clay from this town has been used, along with the kick-wheel technique to make pottery. We will stop at a pottery family atelier for a demonstration of the pottery making and painting techniques. Afterwards we will bring you back to your area hotel to conclude the tour.
The rate is 130 Euros per person (minimum 2 persons on the tour). For the 1-person supplement rate, please email for information. The rate includes pick-up and drop off at your area hotel. A professionally-licensed, English-speaking guide, entrance fees, modern vehicle with air-conditioning and driver, lunch and all taxes.
Nigde Tour
Our tour begins with your guide and driver meeting you at your hotel. We will drive to the city of Nigde (Nee-day) between the ancient volcanoes of Mount Melendez and Mount Hasan. The ancient sites of this area are on the "tentative list" for UNESCO World Heritage status. The drive takes about an hour in which you'll see the ever changing landscape of Cappadocia - from the unique rock formations around Goreme to the flat potato fields rolling hills with shepherds. Before reaching Nigde, we will begin at the Gumusler Monastery. This spectacular rock-cut monastery features vivid paintings of the Nativity, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and other scenes from the New Testament. We continue on to the archaeology museum - one of the most important museums in the area featuring ethnographic works, Asia civilizations hall, and the Classic Works hall. After visiting the museum, we will have a hearty lunch featuring the local cuisine. After lunch we continue to the Aladdin Mosque. Constructed in 1223, this mosque with intricate stone carvings offers perfect examples of Seljuk geometrical design. Our final visit of the day is the Kemerhisar Roman Aqueducts. Built in 211-217 AD, the name refers to "Castle of the arches" - with well-preserved arches and natural pools. After exploring the ruins we will drive you back to your hotel to conclude the day tour.
The rate is 175 Euros per person (minimum 2 persons on the tour). For the 1-person supplement rate, please email for information. The rate includes pick-up and drop off at your area hotel. A professionally-licensed, English-speaking guide, entrance fees, modern vehicle with air-conditioning and driver, lunch and all taxes.
Please send us an email (info@goreme.com) to get further information about the tours and booking.
