Igot curious about the name of the Cappadocian region and I found such an interesting meaning, ‘land of beautiful horses’, and really there are a lot of ones that you can rent and ride through the valleys. That region has a different lowland, and, according to historians, it has been populated since 7000 B.C, and we went there to visit Göreme National Park, and some cities nearby.

For that, we rented a car and, as it was out of high season, the price was very worthwhile, and it was possible to move around the surrounding cities, without getting cold, once the city is very high, there was snow during some days.

Sunset Point

As soon as we arrived at the city of Göreme, we saw a mount in the center and a lot of people on the top. We left our backpacks at the Airbnb and ran to Sunset Point, which has a fascinating view from its valleys. Every early (really early) morning, at about 6a.m., you can see a lot of people on the top waiting to take those amazing photos of the hot air balloons. If you can, go there in the evening too, the view is very different and beautiful, and the lights put on an aside show.

The access goes from the center to the top, by a paved street, 10 minutes on foot, or you can go there by car. The place has free entrance, and there’s only one cafeteria, great for cold days.

Castle Uçhisar

It’s one of the highest points in the region, next to the road of Göreme. Right at the entrance of the castle, you will drop by 2 or 3 rooms that are in the inner part, and the access to the top is done in the outer part through a stairway. We got amazed at the view from the top, all of the valleys surrounding the city can be seen.

At the hillside of the base, there are a lot of cave houses, and that gives the impression that the castle is huge. The entrance fee is 9 pounds (6 reais). As it snowed in some days, that region close to the castle gets even more beautiful.

Love Valley

It’s only 10 minutes by car far from the downtown, but at the entrance of the valley, there’s a sign saying that it’s forbidden to get it there by car, for us not to have problems to enjoy the nature, so we went walking and, in about 10 minutes we arrived at the end of the valley, a lot of people visit it by horse, once the ground is propitious, and it’s also very romantic if you are as a couple.

It’s a region that has a bunch of rock formations and a kind of picturesque shape (don’t be malicious), as it as sculpted by the nature through the years.

Ortahisar Kalesi

As the city of Ortahisar is very near, we visited it. It’s a calm and peaceful place, and its main attraction is also a castle, sculpted on a crag and 90 meters high. In the base, there are some restaurants, and a store of wines, great for the late afternoon, with an interesting view of the little city.

Avanos

It’s a graceful city, and its culture is its pieces of clay pottery, and that’s where you can learn how to build yours too. Next to the suspension bridge, there are gardens with a lot of wild ducks and swans, which move about the Kizilirmak River, the longest one in Turkey.

Walking around there, there are a lot of regional goodies to be tried, such as a candy named Halka Tatlissi, which looks like churros, but eat little, once it’s tooooo sweet! There are also ice creams and corn stew, sold in the tents, and they can be great fellows during your walking.

Where to stay

We chose to stay in Airbnb, and we found a great location, 100 meters far from the main ways of Göreme, we stayed right in downtown, next to the stores, restaurants, touristic attractions and we had total attention from our host.

Here is our Airbnb link, where you can have a discount too!

https://abnb.me/e/goNilApbcU

Means of Transportation

The city has excellent public transportation, the buses. There are also lots of taxis in the streets. They’re usually effective and safe.

As we went visiting Göreme by bus leaving Istanbul, a very cheaper way used by a lot of tourists, and we also save a daily wage at a hotel because the range may be done at night, the ticket is 120 pounds (75 reais), and the bus station of Göreme right in downtown.

Safety of the city

We thought it’s very safe during the time we stayed there. We saw some cops in the streets, and guards in all of the touristic attractions. We walked a lot through all over the city during the daytime and it was very peaceful, the people are super friendly and helpful.

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Travel Insurance

For you to travel in peace, it’s important to have a travel insurance which keeps you safe and has a comprehensive coverage. We always ensure with April Brasil Seguro Viagem, which covers all around the world, it has an app that is easy to access, for you not to keep all that paperwork when you need to use it and, the best part, you can access it from everywhere in the world with service in our language.

So, don’t waste time and hire something safe, and we have a discount coupon, we’ll leave the link below too! Run and use it.

DISCOUNT COUPON: COUTRIPS10%

https://www.aprilbrasil.com.br/coutrips

Internet for your trip

To keep your connection during all the trip, you need a great SIM card, with a worldwide coverage, internet 3G and 4G. For that, we used Easysim4u, the best internet SIM card in the world for your trip. And see that we have been through some countries and we always had the coverage of the plans of Easysim4u. Don’t waste time, run and hire your SIM card for your next trip.

Here’s the link for you to access and ensure your connection to the internet in the world.

https://www.easysim4u.com/?sourceCode=coutrips

Kind of currency

The local currency of Israel is Israeli Shekel, and the exchange in dollar for April/2019 is $1.00 to 6 Turkish Pounds. We recommend to exchange the currency in a safe place such as an airport or at Exchange, a bank in the city. It’s always good to have the local currency.

Expenses in Istanbul and Cappadocia

Our expenses in currency (REAIS) in Turkey during 7 days for the couple were the following:

Feeding: R$251.00 (market, snacks)

Tours: R$45.00 (stone house and museum)

Transportation: R$528.00 (flight, bus, subway, rented car)

Lodging: R$485.00 (Airbnb)

Our stay in Göreme was amazing, even more with snow, which made everything more beautiful. The tour by balloon can be taken only if the winds are under 10km per hour, for safety reasons.

Get the tip if you go specifically to the tour, research about the weather. The balloons didn’t go up to delight even more our days, but it just makes us go back even sooner.