Cappadocia map pink tourmaline. The red valley in goreme is the best pedestrian cavity between the hills of cappadocia

27.09.2021

Wonderful creations of mother nature,
especially when it breaks down.
Mind will not cover.
A. Barikko "Sea-ocean"

Cappadocia was perhaps the #1 place we wanted to visit in Turkey. Who was here, he will understand why, who was not, read on.

In the direction of the Turkish miracle, we set off from Ankara by bus from the ASTI bus station. The ticket cost 35 lire, the ride is four hours. The path passed in two stages: a large bus took us to the bus station in Nevshihir, where we transferred to a small minibus and proceeded to the village of Goreme, which we chose as the starting point for visiting the Cappadocian valleys. Some tourists stay in Nevsehir and other towns, but the majority prefers to stay in Goreme, because the location of this village is much more convenient for walking without using additional transport.

I’ll make a reservation right away that we had quite a lot of time, so we went everywhere on foot, only a couple of times driving on a ride.

IN Goreme, after a short search, settled in Atak Hotel. They asked for the simplest and cheapest room, which, accordingly, turned out to be the smallest. A day's stay cost 40 lire. The hostess was very surprised that we stayed for a whole week, apparently longer than two or three days, a rare beast lingers here.

As a result, we got five full-fledged walks through the valleys, although it seems that we could spend a month slowly wandering through these unique places and exploring every centimeter.

I won’t write much about Cappadocia, I will limit myself to a minimum of impressions and practical information, because this is the place that you need to see with your own eyes, this is the place where you need to come and go, go, go, looking around. So I recommend it to everyone, I wish, no, I strongly advise you to go there :-)

1st day, Cappadocia: Meskendir valley, Red and Rose valleys, Chavushin town
Day 2, Cappadocia: Pasabag, Zelve and Dervent valleys, Urgup city
Day 3, Cappadocia: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar city and Valley of Love
4th day, Cappadocia: Görkündere, Zemi valleys and bad luck in the Balkan valley
Day 5, Cappadocia: Goreme Open Air Museum

General scheme of Cappadocia

Goreme

Cappadocia: Meskendir Valley, Red and Rose Valleys, Cavusin town

We decided to start the first day with peeping at the main tourist attraction of Cappadocia - flying balloons. Subsequently, the impression was that watching them from the side is much more interesting than being on board. Price for a hot air balloon flight: about 200 euros per person for one hour. The basket fits about 15-20 people.

Having met the dawn, we went for a walk along the planned route, namely through the valleys located to the east of Goreme. Today we were waiting for the Meskendir valley, Red and Rose valleys.

The first on our way was Meskendir valley(Meskendir Vadisi). She pleased us with an unimaginable landscape of volcanic origin.

It is difficult to get lost here: the well-trodden path, schemes and signs will not allow you to do this.

Along the way there are cafes where you can drink tea, coffee or orange juice. Prices in them, it should be noted, are tourist prices.

Once people lived in these valleys, and they lived there right up to the beginning of the twentieth century, later some dwellings were converted into dovecotes.

From the Meskendir valley we smoothly move to the next one, red valley(Kızılçukur Vadisi). Here other colors begin to predominate, as you might guess from the name, reddish. Here you can admire the real houses of the gnomes))

From here, from a height, a panorama of the surrounding expanses opens. In this place, we met the most tourists, because there is an observation deck nearby, where they are brought on huge buses.

From Red we go to pink valley, which has two spurs: Güllüdere I and Güllüdere II. Everything around becomes a softer pastel color.

Along the way, there are many churches carved into caves, in some of them you can see preserved frescoes. All of them are striking in size and complexity of forms, it is hard to believe that they were all created by people.

From the top you have a magnificent view of the city.

In addition, in Cavusin you can see the famous Cappadocian "stone pillars" peribajalars. In English, they are called fairy chimney, which translates as "fairy fireplaces." In the people - "mushrooms"))

Meskendir Valley, Red, Pink, Swords located near the foot of the hill, which rises above, and which is visible from many points, which serves as a good guide.

We read about the origin of the landscape of Cappadocia in

This route covers Meskendir valleys, Red, Pink, Swords, those. nearby valleys , which are located at the foot of Aktepe.

Valleys Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords on the map

Meskendir, Red and Pink valleys on the map of Cappadocia (clickable map)

Designations on the map:

Goreme Open Air Museum
Aynaly Church
Kaya Camping
Descent to the Meskendir valley
Meskendir Church
red valley
grape church
Aktepe
Church of Dirikli
pink valley
Khachli Church
Church of St. Thomas
Church of Agenothangelios
Chavushin
Valley of Swords

How to get to the Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords valley on your own from Goreme

The valleys of Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords are in the vicinity. It is very easy to get to the valleys of Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords from Goreme on foot. The road to the valleys starts from the turn to Goreme open air museum (1). Next, go past the Flintstone guesthouse towards the Goreme Open Air Museum. On the way, there will be a valley of swords on the left. Further along the highway, rising higher and higher, you will reach the descent into the Meskendir valley.

Sights and photos of the Meskendir valley, Red, Pink, Swords

In addition to stunning multi-colored landscapes, bizarre weathered forms, rock churches have been preserved in the Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords valleys. Inspection can be started from the Valley of Swords, and making a circle, passing through the Red and Pink valleys, exit through the Meskendir valley. You can do the same in reverse. Consider the option below if you are starting

AynalI Church

Meskendir Valley (4)

Next, you need to return to the highway and move forward to Kaya Camping (3). Behind him, on the left, there will be a descent with a sign “ Meskendir vadisi 4400 m” . Well, actually, get down and go. The only thing I will add is that the first part of the path is better to go along the top of the gorge, and not go down to its bottom. There is a stream there. It can be very dirty, and it will be simply impossible to pass during the “water” period, because. it turns into a small river. In addition, the churches are at the top.

Meskendir Church (5)

Red Valley (KIZILÇUKUR)

The road along the Meskendir valley leads to a spur called red valley(6), according to the colors prevailing here.

Üzumlu Church

Üzümlü Church, i.e. Grape, or St. Nikitas (7). The church has one apse. At the back of the nave is a niche with tombs. The name "St. Nikitas" received the name of the Stylite Nikitas who once lived here. And Grape - according to the painting on the ceiling from the Bolba period with icon painting. The church arose in the 8th century. There are also frescoes familiar to us. Similar frescoes can be seen in,

Then you can climb to the very top along the path to the hill Aktepe(8), or as this place is also called Sunset point. It is very good to meet the sunset here, because the valleys A all at a glance. And the play of light is very clearly visible on rocks that are unreal in color. But even without sunset, the view is very beautiful.

Rose Valley (GÜLLÜDERE)

If you go down again from Aktepe, but keep to the right, then you can go to one of the spurs Rose Valley (10).

At the very beginning, on the border with the Red Valley, there is Derikli church(9). The church is big enough. It's dark inside, so a flashlight won't hurt. Some rooms are connected by tunnels. On some of them you can only move on your haunches. There are no frescoes inside.

There are several other churches in Rose Valley: Ayvalı Kilise , Sütunlu Kilise , Annayua

Rose Valley Photos

From Derikli you can go to the spur, which is to the left (there is another church). In the spur to the right there are 3 more churches: Church of Haçli (Khachli). (eleven)

Church of St. Thomas(12), which, in my opinion, is forever closed by an iron door and Church of Agenothangelios, in which frescoes have been preserved (13)

Valley of Swords (Kiliçlar)

Further along the spur we return to the continuation of the road from Meskendir. And here you are at a crossroads. If you have the strength, then you can go to Chavushin (14). If there is no strength, then through the valley of the Swords Kiliçlar (15) you return home. This is the valley that is on the left as you walked towards the Goreme Museum. There are wild churches, on some the frescoes are barely visible.

Cappadocian sphinx

As a result, you find yourself again on the road leading to the Goreme Museum.

Places that can be combined with the Meskendir, Red, Pink, Swords valleys

1. Goreme Museum-Reserve (Goreme Open Air Museum)

This is the first place that is definitely worth a visit. It is located a kilometer from the city itself, in fact, within walking distance. The museum itself is located in the valley, where the entire spiritual and religious life of Christian Byzantium was concentrated in the 4th-13th centuries. Great Christian associates lived here - Basil the Great, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian. Don't miss Buckles Church, which is located outside the museum, on the way to Goreme. The ticket to the museum and the church is one.

Goreme Museum-Reserve. Rock churches.

Valley at the entrance to the Goreme Museum-Reserve

2. Uchisar City and Uchisar Castle

It is impossible to miss it, as it is the most high point throughout Cappadocia. The fortress was originally a high tuff mountain, but since the region was at the intersection of the interests of different states and peoples and it was often raided, the mountain was adapted for a garrison fortress and an observation post.

Uchisar fortress

View of the Uchisar fortress. Cappadocia in March

View from the top of the Uchisar fortress

The mountain is pitted with dozens of windows, entrances, rooms and passages. Most of the premises are littered and inaccessible to visitors.

Sunset is the best time to climb to the top. Just do not rush to go down and wait for the very end. Sunsets in Cappadocia are surprisingly diverse. If you are fond of photography, then the daily farewell of the sun "over the hill" will delight you with the unusual colors of heavenly flashes and the whimsical play of clouds. Again, for photo lovers, the view from the western side during sunset is especially picturesque: many windows, openings, dovecotes. The entrance to the fortress is paid.

Sunsets in Uchisar

3. Pigeon Valley

The valley stretches for several kilometers from Goreme to Uchisar. We advise you to get to Uchisar and start the descent from its side. So you will constantly go down, and not climb up. Agree, it's much more pleasant;)

"Valley of Doves"

4. Love Valley

Yes, that's exactly what you thought. A whole valley of monumental male virtues. Big and small. For every taste. Enjoy.

It is better to start the route along the Love Valley from Uchisar, and finish a few kilometers from Goreme.

5. Pashaba Valleyand" (Pashabagi Valley)

Those who lacked the impressions of the monumental male virtues of the Valley of Love can get what they lack here. Advantages are more statistic and accuracy. Do not miss the cell of Simeon the Stylite in the center of a small valley. We will tell about him and his dwelling in our next story about Cappadocia.

6. Red and Rose Valley (Red and Rose Valley)

Stock up on water, strength and a memory card for the camera. The valley is huge, winding, with several small rock churches, with beautiful views, steep climbs, picturesque tunnels and colorful tuff fairy stones. In three words: walk, watch, take pictures.

"Rose Valley"

7. Underground cities of Cappadocia (Derinkyu, Kalmakli)

The exact number of underground cities in Cappadocia is not known, as some of them collapsed, and some were never found. Of the open to visit - 8 cities, of which the most popular are Kaymakli and Derinkuyu. If you are traveling with children, we recommend that you start sightseeing from the cities - they will bring the children into a real delight. Each city is unique. If you are in Kaymakli, you will notice the confusion and chaos of urban planning. If you reach Derinkuyu, by the way, the largest underground city, you will be amazed at its harmony and completely “urban logic” of planning. ABOUT underground cities we will also tell separately and in more detail.

8. Songali Valley

You can only get here by car or with a group. We advise you to go individually, for which you can rent a car for one day. On the way, special views are guaranteed, mountain and rock churches, many rock pigeon houses and an amazing monastery at the very end of the path. There you will find six rock churches, some of which are covered with frescoes dating back thousands of years. Try to find the entrance to the Hidden Church.

Local residents still live on the territory of the reserve in rocky caves. Songala Valley.

Rock monasteries of Songala

9. Ihlara Valley

Despite the fact that the valley is somewhat away from the very popular routes this place is very interesting to visit. You can get here either with an excursion group or on your own by renting a car. Individual tourism, although expensive, is more educational. There are two ways to get down to the valley. We recommend starting your route near the village of Belisirma, somewhere in the middle of the valley. Firstly, you can leave your car in the parking lot next to the entrance, and secondly, you will not need to go down, and most importantly, then climb the 200 steps leading out of the gorge. Believe me, after 7-10 kilometers on foot, climbing up the gorge along 200 steps will seem like torture to you. The valley itself is divided by the river into two banks connected by four bridges. The length of the entire valley is 14 kilometers, but the most interesting part is about 7 kilometers, it is enclosed just between 4 bridges. If you are going to the valley in your car, keep in mind that you will have to go around the valley in a circle and even these 7 kilometers immediately turn into 14. Actually, that’s why we advise you to leave your car at the nearest parking lot near the village of Belisirma, the sign to which you can easily find , or the navigator will lead you exactly.

What to see in the valley. In addition to the amazing beauty of the faults created by the sharp cooling of the lava, every stone, every turn of the river and every littered old tree are picturesque here. Add to this the rock temples, painted with frescoes of the 9th-11th centuries, strange faults, caves and passages.

Especially for men! Be sure to look for the "Snake Church". Inside, on the left immediately at the entrance there will be a fresco of the Last Judgment, which depicts four sinful women bitten by snakes. The one that did not breastfeed children, one bites in the chest. The one that talked a lot, the snake bites in the mouth, and the one that did not listen to her husband - in the ears. Well, the one that cheated on her husband is wrapped around eight snakes for a particularly serious sin. This fresco was used by Byzantine men to tame their wives as a warning and prophylaxis;)

Fresco "Snakes biting women". snake church

Landscapes on the way to the Ihlara Valley

A small village above the fault of the Ihlara valley

View of the Ihlara Valley from the height of the plateau

Ihlara Valley

Once the largest monastery in Cappadocia

Selimi Monastery

10. Chavushin and surroundings (Shavushin)

In the vicinity of the city of Chavushin, several places are interesting, the first is the city fortress. Back in the early 20th century, Chavushin was a small Greek town. During the unrest in Turkey, the Greeks left their homes and fled to Greece. Now the city is completely inhabited by the Turks, however, in the empty eye sockets of the Greek houses, the suffering of the Greeks, in a hurry to leave their land, is still visible. Many houses have not acquired new owners and are lonely and ruined. But tourists and children enjoy the picturesque ruins.

Not far from Chavushin, on the road to the city of Avanos, there is a turn to the Pashabaya valley. We talked about her earlier. But if you drive further towards Ugrup, you will find yourself in the Devrent Valley with the famous camel and beautiful peribajalars. Unfortunately, there are very few paved hiking trails in the valley. But there is a spirit of pioneers;)

View of the Chavushinsky fortress from the height of the balloon

The famous mountain "Camel" on the road from Chavushin to Ugryup

Derwent Valley

Almost forgot - be sure to take a hot air balloon flight! This is an unforgettable, albeit quite expensive pleasure. All passwords and appearances in our next article.

Daily morning hot air balloon rides

Good luck in exploring Cappadocia and share your discoveries;)

Note to those who travel to Cappadocia via Istanbul - do not forget to download our

Cappadocia is world famous for its unique rock formations and caves, which were used by Christian settlers centuries ago. While many people prefer to see the scenery from above, it is equally interesting to walk through the valleys on foot.

Near the settlements of Goreme, Uchisar and Chavushin are the most interesting valleys of Cappadocia. They differ in beauty, complexity of the landscape, travel time and even color. Some are the most popular, while others are completely deserted. Depending on your health and fitness, you can choose trekking of any difficulty level. An "average" tourist will be able to get around all the valleys in 2-3 days.

The difficulty was not even in our endurance, but in orientation to the terrain. For your convenience, here is a map of the main hiking trails in the valleys of Cappadocia:

The valley closest to Goreme. It starts right behind the open-air museum. Nicknamed so because of the detached sharp rocks resembling swords or daggers. It is considered the shortest valley, but there are many ancient stone huts and the deepest ravine that you can go down. You can get around Kiliclar Vadisi in 1-2 hours.

Rose and Red Valleys (Rose, Red Valleys)

The most famous valleys in Cappadocia. We did not notice a big difference between the Red and Pink Valleys (there are two of them: Gulludere-1 and Gulludere-2). The rocks are approximately the same pink color, somewhere darker, somewhere lighter.

Walking through the valleys, we came across abandoned vineyards and pumpkin fields, houses in which people lived quite recently (who left the now abandoned vineyards):

More recently, people lived in this house, even some kind of barrel for water still stands near the entrance.

Abandoned vineyard near the house

Ancient rock churches, the frescoes in which are almost invisible:

There are also large churches, for example, like this one:

Entrance to the huge cave church:

Along the way, a couple of times came across small cafes where you can drink orange juice or tea.

Freshly squeezed orange juice for a dollar and a view of a million

And there are abandoned cafes: and it is not surprising, because a rather small percentage of tourists in Cappadocia decide on long walks in the mountains, so such a cafe practically does not bring income.

Abandoned cafe

Climbing these mountains, you feel like the ruler of the world: from a height, indescribable views of the valley open up and not a single living soul is in sight!

A couple of times we met clearings with drying grapes, slowly turning into raisins under the scorching September sun:

All photos from Rose Valley:

Love Valley

This valley is famous for its thin and long rocks with triangular tops. A more appropriate name for this valley is the valley of the phalluses, but it is used exclusively among tourists.

Chavushin Fortress (also known as a holey or cheese rock)

The fortress once served as a home for many families, a sort of analogue of a modern high-rise building, an apartment building.

In addition to the usual living quarters, there is also a church. The frescoes in it are already worn out. It is clearly seen how diligently the Ottoman invaders tried to destroy the faces on the icons (in the Muslim religion, the image of people and animals is prohibited, and with the destruction of the face, as the Ottomans believed, the soul also leaves the icons):

The entrance to the fortress is free.

Pigeon Valley

Another name for it is the valley of pigeon houses or the valley of pigeons. Indeed, a great many dovecotes were seen in the rocks of the valley: the locals love these birds. Turns out. Pigeon breeding also has a practical purpose: the extraction of pigeon droppings, which, according to local residents, is the best fertilizer.

There is a valley between Goreme and Uchisar, so it would be logical to combine its passage with a visit to the Uchisar fortress. And here again new forms of rocks!

Right at the exit from the valley is a cozy cafe. We enjoyed drinking tea there and chatting with the owner. When he found out that we were Russians from Samara, he was incredibly happy and said that his car was also from Samara. Indeed, under a tree next to the cafe, there was an old red Lada, on which the owner daily comes to his cafe from Uchisar and waits for very rare tourists.

Stream Valley (Zemi Valley)

It is considered the longest valley - its length is 5.6 km. You can visit it together with the Open Air Museum in Goreme. The entrance is literally 100 meters from the museum parking lot. There used to be a brook babbling here, but it has dried up, although in some places it is still quite damp and dirty. Along the way you can meet several churches, cells, chimneys.

The Zemi Valley is very easy in terms of difficulty, very beautiful and not very crowded - there are no excursions and ATVs.

Meskendir Valley

The length of the valley is 4400 m, it lies in the south-west direction from Ortahisar to the village of Chavushin. You need to start trekking between the Open Air Museum and the Ortahisar settlement.

The path is quite long, but very interesting to explore. On the way, you can turn immediately to 3 other valleys, visit several churches. Meskendir is considered "the entrance to the valleys of Cappadocia". It is known for its unusual rock formations, colorful rocks and lunar landscape. The whole journey will take approximately 3 hours.

There are a lot of things within walking distance of Goreme interesting places With beautiful scenery. Today we will go to the Rose Valley, it will take about forty minutes to walk to it with a valiant step.
We did not go along the road, but through the rocks and vegetable gardens, here and there the remains of the former “apartments” cut into the rock were visible:

In Cappadocia, the way of life has not changed for centuries, so in some places you can find hay:

Gostly Village:

I'm going down. As the smartest, I took off my jacket, because even though it was January, it was hot and I carried everything with me. Climbing along the gullies was terribly not convenient with this luggage:

As in the case of walking along the Valley of Love, local dogs again followed us here. This time it's a romantic couple:

Turkish male posing with a Russian girl:

The rock cones are already much larger here:

And almost every one has a “door” cut into it:

Village:

Neighborhood:

Dense urban development:

Office building:

Townhouses:

Here is beauty, like frozen lava flows. Find me for one in this photo:

Springboard between two rocks to jump into the abyss by car:

Here, in the neighborhood, there are gardens near almost every high cliff:

Sometimes there is a feeling that the inhabitants only a couple of hours ago ran away from the plantations underground, leaving the message of their sickly scrub. Here are the goats in the garden. By the way, apples and grapes are still not harvested, as in the previous valley - the Valley of Love:

A rock with a face that has made lips into a tube and whistles:

Inside each rock there are "apartments" that you can freely enter:

And plenty of climbing inside. By the way, it is quite difficult to crawl along the local stone devices in order to climb vertically upwards. You have to be a rock climber or Roman Kholodov:

Now who will appear from that high window?

Oops… Aboriginal:

Says hello to Russia and steps down:

We go up the path:

In the background is a hut. I have always wondered why the local stonemasons and monks cut exactly rectangular entrances and made rectangular caves inside the rock:

After all, if they were heated by fire, then the smoke inside such a hut was immeasurable:

Tatiana:

At the very top of the mountain lay an old refrigerator. We sat on it, rested and fed the dogs. Dogs even eat muesli, by the way.
Ilya:

From the hill there was a beautiful view of Rose Valley. Why Pink? But the devil knows, probably romantic local called her so for the color of these rocks at sunset: