Day 1 – Istanbul (or Izmir) to Cappadocia
Take the morning flight to Cappadocia: Direct morning flights from Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevşehir everyday; Direct flights from Izmir to Kayseri on Monday and Wednesday mornings.
Arrival and meeting at the airport just outside the arrival gate with a sign bearing your name and transfer to Cappadocia.

Tour to Kaymaklı Underground City, one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia. Drive to to Sahinefendi ( Sobesos )- Sobessos is newly discovered (01 May 2002) mosaic houses & Archaeological excavation site. Villages in the valleys, surrounded by the “table top” mountains, are spectacular. Continue with Keslik Monastery near Cemil, that hides it’s frescoes behind a very thin smoke layer which we can only see by torch light. Lunch break. Visit to Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; very fine examples of late Greek settlements and architecture. Visit to Saruhan Caravanserai, a roadside inn where travellers could rest and recover from the day’s journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across a network of trade routes of Asia, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe on the legendary Silk Road and the Spice road. Continue with panorama of the Red Valley, with its fabulous volcanic rock formations, is in the heart of Cappadocia but away from the tourist crowd. Overnight Cappadocia

Day 2 – Cappadocia
Hot Air ballooning with sunrise (extra),
Meeting at the hotel reception at 09:30am
After breakfast, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; walking in Pasabag near Zelve ; “fairy chimneys” where the voice of wind mixes with the “songs of fairies”. Lunch in Avanos, centre of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC. and a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop. Afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century). Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia.

Day 3 – Cappadocia to Istanbul (or other destinations)
Please choose one of the two options below:
Meeting at the hotel reception at 09:30am

OPTION 1: TURKISH VILLAGE LIFE & CULINARY TOUR Starting the day with a visit to local market ( available only on Monday, Friday and Saturdays ) or a morning walk to the fruit orchards of Ayvali Village. We will collect and taste fresh fruits from the trees (harvesting between June and October) or visit the cave storages for lemons and potatoes. The tour continues with a walk through the narrow streets of the village. Each door opens for an invitation as the villagers invite you for a cup of tea, a plate full of dessert or fruit from their house. According to the season, we join the villagers to learn and help make grape syrup, tomato sauce productions and pumpkin seed collecting. Visiting the local meeting point, Kahvehane,(coffeehouse) to learn more about their lifestyle and local games while drinking the Turkish coffee and tea.Visit the mosque in the village and learn more about the religious customs. For the lunch, we are invited to a real village house to join a Turkish family. We’ll collect the ingredients from their garden and we will participate in cooking a delicious Turkish meal. We are going to have lunch by sitting together with the family in a traditional Turkish fashion. After the lunch, a walk through a beautiful hidden valley near the village. Drive to see a cave wine house to see the process of making delicious and famous Cappadocia wine. Before going back to the hotel, there may be an optional stop to see an art and handicraft center of Cappadocia. Overnight Cappadocia.

OPTION 2: IHLARA CANYON HIKING: Drive to Ihlara, walking in Ihlara Canyon, a “mirage” in the Steps of Anatolia up to Belisirma village, the ancient Peristrema: “Valley of the Sky” along the Melendiz River. Rock-cut churches, spread across a wild plantation, surprise you with their successfully painted representations from the Bible. Lunch in Belisirma, a local restaurant by the river. Stop by Selime, a village with cave houses at the end of the canyon and a “star wars” like landscape.

Transfer to airport to take the evening flight to Istanbul or other destinations and leave Cappadocia