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Arrival to Kayseri or Tuzkoy Airport and Transfer to hotel in Cappadocia . Today we visit Goreme Open- Museum . The Goreme Open Museum is a Goreme Open-air Museum is housing a complex of monasteries and churches. There are two rock-cut monasteries just beyond the entrance, one of them was for nuns and the other one for monks. We'll explore their different rooms and chapel. Then we will go to Pashabagi, also known as “Monk's Valley”, because this is the place where the hermits of Cappadocia lived in the top of the fairy chimneys, carving inside their space to live, following the example of St Simeon, who, in the 5 th century in a place close to Aleppo , decided to live in seclusion. In order to avoid the people who came to ask him for miracles, he decided to live on the top of a column 15 mt high. Also we will explore other of the most famous valleys in Cappadocia, like Cavushin and Dervent, where we will see how wonderful sculptress is the nature. We will finish the day paying a visit to Urgup and Avanos, two important villages in Cappadocia . Urgup currently is divided in 2 areas: the old and new city. Old Urgup is located on a hillside of little mountain. There are caves hewn out tufa, and old houses from Seljuks and Ottoman periods, and the biggest winery of Cappadocia is here. All the cellars are underground where the temperature is 13-14 degree and constant all year round. Avanos is the pottery town of Cappadocia . This traditional art was taught to the Hittites, the rulers of the region, in those times by the Assyrians around 19 C BC . Avanos is settled on the banks of the Red River (Kizilirmak), and clay provided by the river has been the root material for the development of this craft. Transfer to your hotel, and free time.
Today we visit Uchisar, which is a cave town and natural rock citadel formed initially by erosion forces. Later, many caves were hewn out by people and were occupied for living inside until the beginning of the last century. We'll have the chance to see some of these caves inside. A forest of cones, with caves inside them, surrounds the big Rock Citadel. This scenery will amaze you. Later we will visit Derinkuyu underground city, one of the several underground cities that there are in the region. The settlement is approximately 85m deep, and it has all the usual rooms found in an underground settlement: stables, cellars, refectories, churches, wineries etc. From the 3rd and 4th floors onwards the descent is by way of vertical staircases which lead to the cruciform plan church on the lowest floor. After finish here, we'll drive to Mustafapasha, 6km to the south of Urgup, village that was inhabited by Greek Orthodox families until the beginning of the 20th century. There are many churches and monasteries. Transfer to airport in Kayseri and end of your services. |
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