A Wonderful Cappadocia Extension

An Amazing Cappadocia Adventure for your pre/post Istanbul Visit

DAY 1 - ISTANBUL/ KAYSERI/ CAPPADOCIA

UTS - United Travel’s Private Guide will meet you at the lobby of the hotel at 8 am, for   your private transfer to the Istanbul Airport for Turkish Airlines flight (ETD 09:50 / ETA 11:10) to Kayseri to start your adventure in Cappadocia for an experience of a life time. Upon your arrival in Kayseri Airport, you will enjoy your comfortable ride for one and a half hour as UTS’ English speaking lecturer/guide briefs you on the historical and natural marvels of this fascinating region. 

The day’s experience will start by visiting Red Valley for a promenade on turf in between the FAIRY CHIMNEYS, hailing “Mother nature” as “the most creative artist of the World”, for these spectacular rock formations.  Another cultural experience, unique to this region, is a visit to the group of young village girls from all over Cappadocia, at their “Art School”, where they happily learn to become masters of the national art of weaving Turkish carpets and kilims to be able to contribute to their traditional dowry, before they get married.

At the end of the tour, you will be escorted to the Dere Cave Suites.

You will be picked up from the hotel at 7:30 pm and drive to one of the most famous URANOS Restaurant for a Traditional Turkish Night Show. Dinner and oriental floor show including belly dancers, folklore dancers. 3-course set menu and unlimited local drinks are included. At the end of the dinner and show, you will be transferred to your hotel by 11 pm.

DAY 2  -  CAPPADOCIA

 If the velocity of the wind will be suitable today, it will be an early bird departure with your lecturer/guide from the hotel for a formidable “Balloon Adventure” over the enchanting “lunar landscape” of Cappadocia, to hail the slowly rising sun, with a glass of champagne.  The balloon ride over Cappadocia at sunrise is an experience of a lifetime, with all the excitement of seeing from above, the farthest “fairy chimneys” of the vast region, as a lunar landscape, only possible in one’s fantasies. 

You will then return to your hotel for a leisurely buffet breakfast, before you are ready for a new day in Cappadocia, with other “fun” experiences and wonderful cultural “surprises”.

The day’s tour will start with an unforgettable visit to the Valley of GÖREME that houses the “OPEN AIR MUSEUM OF ROCK CARVED CHURCHES”, built by the early Christians there, hiding from the persecution of the Roman soldiers. Due to the incredibly beautiful frescoes, adorning the walls of these early churches of Christianity carved into volcanic rocks, CAPPADOCIA’s famous Open Air Museum has been included in UNESCO’s WORLD Heritage List, as one of the cultural Wonders of the World.

The next visit will be to the Underground City of Ozkonak. Özkonak which is an ancient city built on the northern slopes of Mt. Idis about 14 km northeast of Avanos in Turkey. The city has many strata made up of volcanic granite its larger areas are connected to each other by tunnels. Ozkonak had a built in communication system of pipes to each of its levels, Each carved out room had ventilation provided by holes when the city was closed against enemies. The city was probably built by the people of Byzantine Cappadocia, although the age is uncertain and could be older.

Lunch will be served at the Alaturca Restaurant.

You will then continue to AVANOS village of the region where you will meet with one of the most colorful personalities of Cappadocia, the Old Master of Pottery, at his primitive atelier that he built personally in labyrinth like caves of the village, where earth is soft and reddish in color – an ideal raw material for the area’s traditional business of pottery making.

In the afternoon, you will discover that Cappadocia is a heaven for wine lovers, being one of the oldest vine yard regions in the World. You will be welcomed by the TURASAN Family’s third generation in charge of the main producing center of Cappadocia, as every bottle of wine is made with great care and attention to protecting their famous quality and taste in Turkey. You will visit their underground wine collars, stocking their wine barrels that will eventually be bottled into ONE MILLION bottles for the local and International markets. Upstairs, you will enjoy their wine tasting ceremony of red-white and rose TURASAN wines, together with the best of local cheese.

At the end of the tour you will be transferred to your hotel.

DAY 3 - CAPPADOCIA – KAYSERI / ISTANBUL

UTS’s English Speaking Guide will meet you at the lobby of your hotel at 7 am for your private transfer to Kayseri Airport to take your flight to Istanbul. (ETD 0900 / ETA 1030)  Upon arrival in Istanbul, you will be connecting your outbound flight departing not before 12:30 pm.