Balloon Tours

When does it departure ?
We will pick you up from the hotel early in the morning, before sunrise.

Where we are going ?
You fly over valleys of Cappadocia full of rock formations, fairy chimneys and natural beauty. Actual flight starts before sunrise and effective flight in the air is about 1 hour.

Is it safe?
To fly in a balloon is as safe as traveling on an airliner operated by one of the worlds major carriers and not surprisingly many people who don't like the claustrophobia of an airliner feel very comfortable in the balloon basket. Unlike an airliner, the technical systems are very simple and there is almost nothing that can go wrong

What about Insurance?
We carry insurance corresponding with International law for the carriage of passengers

How about pilots ?
They are licensed, professional and have long years of experience behind them. With these pilots you will not just fly over Cappadocia, depending on the season, pilots may bring you so close to fruit trees, like apricots or to collect flowers and up again

Is it good to fly with Ballon?
Cappadocia is a land of extreme beauty, the deep canyons and lush fertile valleys provide our balloons with an ideal playground for a unique and memorable flight...If you wish to do a balloon ride one time in your life save it for Cappadocia, you will have an unforgettable experience.

INCLUDES
Licenced and experienced pilots All-inclusive prices No age limits Passenger insurance

Trekking

Tour 1:

We have a look at the old city. Then possibility for those who want to visit the famous and rich anatolian civilisations museum where are exposed many objets and tools, found during archaeological excavations in anatolian historical sites. 4 h drive to cappadocia area through the anatolian plateau, via the salt lake (tuz gölü). Before arriving in the heart of cappadocia, we have a stop to visit to the agzikarahan seljuk caravanserai from the 12th century. The caravans travelling on the silk-road used this as guest-hotel. The masonry is an example showing the seljuk art.
Then our minibus drives us to derinkuyu for visiting the incredible underground city (8 floors, going down to 57 m under the ground).
After this visit, we drive to mustafapaşa charming city, which was inhabited by orthodox greek, until 1923. At this date turkey and greece signed the lausanne treaty, concerning exchange of population between the 2 countries. Today, you can recognise greek masonry on the face of old houses.
Cheek in pension for overnight.

Tour 2: Tahtali , Uzengi And Pancarlik Valleys - Mustafapasa (Walk About 5 Hours)
After breakfast in the Guest House, our minibus drives us to the trailhead point of our walk. We walk down to the tahtali, one of most typical of cappadocia. Millions years ago tuff, a soft stone comprised of lava, ash and mud have been thrown out to place by volcanoes. The erosion made this unnatural work; rock formations out of a fantasy land rise up before you at every turn and entice you to look longer and wonder at their creation…
Then through small valleys and plateaux we go down to the valley of uzengi bordered with a high cliff of white tuff where are thousands of pigeon houses.
Our lunch break will be on the way as a picnic.
Our pathway takes us into the pancarlik valley. It is a fantastic landscape, a tumble of waves with pastels colours, patchwork of vineyards and small gardens in terraces. We are in front of sarica and kepez churches, carved in the heart a fairy chimney. They are interesting for their architecture.
 

Tour3: Valleys Of Avcilar And Kiliçlar Göreme (Walk About 5 Hours)
Short drive to the beginning of avcilar valley. In the heart of cappadocia, this is a very beautiful valley, with poplars, fruit trees and gardens between two walls of colour tuff. We follow all the meanders; the colours change quickly, the white dominate, the abandoned gardens fall down in this strange land.
Then our way continues into the kiliçlar valley. Like mushrooms, fairy-chimneys are standing up and we walk through them. Simple rock-cut churches, cones and unusual rock formations are the highlights of this part of the trek. Picnic will be served for lunch.

Tour 4: Zelve - Pasabag - Cavusin - Kizilcukur - Goreme (Walking around 5 Hours)
Transfer to zelve and visit, an old cave-dwellings-village, today used as an open-air museum. It was inhabited until 1950, but the government moved the population because of erosion.
Walk to paşabağ valley (also called priest valley). We walk on the cliffside dominating the most famous fairy chimneys of cappadocia: some are getting destroyed, whereas some others have still three "heads"... We cross çavuşin village village, one of the first christian settlement. We visit here the old church dedicated to st the baptispte, where you can still recognise the fresco of salome dancing for herodes. Afterward we continue onto kızılçukur (red valley), this valley is certainly the most beautiful in cappadocia with its formations and red colours: during millions years ago, rain and wind worked together to erode the soft volcanic rock; you will see here that the result is really fairy. Small valleys, cones, peaks and fairy chimneys alternate harmoniously on our way. Because he needed to become integrated into this extraordinary landscape, man built into this, cave dwellings, frescoed churches. We will visit some of them en-route.

Tour 5: Guvercinlik - Akvadi - Göreme (Walk About 5 Hours)
We walkin the göreme-valley, which will get us to the pigeon valley (called so because of the numerous "pigeon houses" built in the 18th century). After lunch-breach in uçhisar village visit the high viewpoint known as "fortress": this offers a splendid view all over cappadocia. In the afternoon we walk in the akvadi valley following an old river (today dry), with fruits gardens and vineyards. In this valley, the fairy chimneys are particularly slim.

Tour 6: Göreme - Ihlara Valley - Selime - Ankara (Walk Around 5 Hours)
Drive to ihlara area where.
Walk in the ihlara valley, along the melendiz with the rhythm of birds’ songs. This valley is particularly rich with flora due to presence of water. We will see here cave dwellings and rock-cut churches from the christian period. We visit certainly ones of the most beautiful orthodox churches (from 6th and 12th century) with good conserved frescoes on the rock faces of the valley. We arrive in belisırma village where we have lunch-break at the bank of the river.
Then drive to ankara (4 hours). Install to hotel for the night.

Cappadocia Tours

DERINKUYU or KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY these two underground cities where dwellings for the christian communitiest to use as refuges. It contains all the usual rooms found in an underground city such as stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, churches, and wineries. Apart from these, was a missionary school.

IHLARA VALLEY this canyon was created by the cracking and collapsing which occurred as basalt and andesite lava from Mt. Hassadag cooled. The Melendiz river found its way through these cracks, eroding the canyon bed and helping to form canyon we see today.

SELIME is situated at the end of the Ihlara valley. Fairy chimneys rest on the steep hillside, and a basilica style cathedral the Selime Sultan tomb, a hollowed out citadel and churches are also found here.
YAPRAKHISAR Monastery, panoramic view point.

AGZIKARAHAN CARAVANSERAI were a very important place for the Seljuk rulers of Anatolia to trade. They deveopled the old trade routes, and built Caravansaries along the way to act as shelters and provide protection to traders.

Turkish Night

Turkish Night Show is organized not only to let you experience Turkish culture and traditions but also to have a real entertainment and show after a relaxing Cappadocia day. We pick you up from your hotel in Urgup or other towns of Cappadocia at 20:00 in winter and 20:30 in summer and drive you to one of the cave restaurants of Cappadocia where the show will be performed.

The show begins with a short, 10 minutes version of Whirling Dervishes Ceremony which will give you an idea about how it is. For the real, religious ceremony we suggest Whirling Dervishes Ceremony in the 13th century caravanserai. During the whole night, there will be live music performed by a traditional customes wearing band. After the dervishes, folk dancers come in their local dresses and the dances start.

The dancers, including the bride and groom, come on the dance floor and perform the traditional way, which a girl gets married in Turkey. The bride dressed in a beautiful red dress dances in the middle and the groom comes up and put on different shows for her. He first shows how handsome he is, and than how strong he is and finally how rich he is. After rejecting all these shows one by one, the bride accepts to get married with him when the groom tells that his heart beats for her. While they are strating to their wedding dance, all the guests are invited to dance with them, as well.

After a couple of other folk dances from different parts of Turkey, the highlight of the night comes: Belly Dancer! She makes her breath-taking dance and then goes around all the tables to take one man from each table. The men have a great time while they are learning the secrets of belly-dancing with some basic figures. Their wives? Well, it was made sure there were no sharp objects around, before the belly dancer!

After some other dances and shows like fire dance, caucasian dance with knives and drum show, the night ends around 23:30 and we drive you back to your hotel for a deep sleep.

During the night the waiters will serve unlimited soft and alcholic drinks with appetizers. The main course will be lamb with rice, the traditional wedding meal of Turkey.

Jeep Safari

Leaving early in the morning in jeeps towards Ürgüp, Mustafapaşa, Yeşilhisar, and Yahyalı. From Yahyalı to Aladağlar via mountain roads, and then camping beside Zamantı River near Çamlıca Village.

Lunch is served when camped at Büyükçakır and Karpuzbaşı waterfalls. Next morning, visit mountain villagers living at a height of 2500 m in the mountains and on the high plateaus. Return to the hotel via Niğde and Nevşehir.

This tour can be organised as a 1-day or 4-day tour based on your preference, and with a minimum 8 people and 3 jeep's participation. Another route including northern high plateaus of Toros Mountains can also be organised. For jeep tours, booking is necessary at least five days in advance.

Horse Riding

Our horse riding tours start and finish at the horse farm in Goreme. Transfer of our guests from/to the horse farm in Goreme is provided by service vehicles. Training is available for the inexperienced by the farm if required. The duration of riding and our riding tours varies and is tailored for each group.

                            Half Day Tour:
Includes visits to around Goreme Valleys (Zemi Valley, Rose Valley and Cavusin). Different routes can be organised if requested.

Whirling Dervishes

Whirling Derviches Ceremony (at historical Carevansarai):

Semâ is is the inspiration of Mevlânâ Celâleddin-i Rumî (1207 - 1273) as well as part of Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture… It symbolizes in seven parts the different meanings of a mystic cycle to perfection (Ascension - Mirac). Contemporary science definitely confirms that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no object, no being which does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings is the revolution of the electrons and protons in the atoms, which constitute the structure of the smallest particle to the stars far in the sky. As a consequence of this similarity, every thing revolves and man carries on his life, his very existence by means of the revolution in the atoms, structural elements in his body, bye the circulation of his blood, bye his coming from the Earth and return to it, by his revolving with the Earth itself.

However, all of these are natural, unconscious revolutions. But man is the processor of a mind and intelligence which distinguished him from and makes him superior to other beings…

Thus the whirling dervish or Semâzen causes the mind to participate in the shared similarity and revolution of all other beings…
- The Semâ ceremony represents all a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives to the “Perfect”. Then he returns from this spiritual journeys as a man who reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole creation, to all creatures without discriminating in regard to belief, class, or race… The dervish with his head-dress(his ego's tombstone), his white skirt (his ego's shroud) is spiritually born to the truth, by removing his black cloak, he journeys and advances to spiritual maturity through the stages of the Semâ. At the onset and each stage of the Semâ holding his arms crosswise he represents number one, and testifies to God's unity. While whirling his arms are open, his right hand directed to the sky ready to receive God's beneficence, gazing his left hand turned toward the earth, he turns from right to left, pivoting around the heart. This is his way of conveying God's spiritual gift to the people upon whom God “looks with a Divine” watchfulness. Revolving around the heart, from right to left, he embraces all of humankind, all the creation with affection and love…