Cappadocia last part; Trekking to Goreme Rock Formations

4-days Turkey Summer Solo Escapade
June 27 to July 03, 2014

Cappadocia 3rd part; Goreme Open-Air Museum

How to go to Goreme Hiking Paths;
Start of hiking path is in the main road, in between the Goreme bus terminal and Open-air Museum. Free admission, photography and video taking is permitted.

Following the paths along the valleys is an amazing (and free) option. Check with your hotel owner or the tourist office for a map of the area with suggested walks and trails. There are several nice loops on packed dirt, sand and rock, that maintain a constant elevation and pass through the scenic valleys. However, the best views require some uphill climbs. 

Pigeon/Love/Red & Rose valleys can be walked individually or together and each 'trail' offers different landscapes. Pigeon valley walk starts from the end of the street Flinstone's Hotel is on and leads to Uçhisar (approx 1 hr). Love Valley starts from the Onyx Factory at the bottom of Uçhisar and takes you to Çavuşin (approx 1 hr). Red & Rose Valley is on the way back to Göreme and can be seen on a 2 hour 15TL sunset tour (available everywhere) or you can easily spend 1-4 hours walking around the valleys independently. All stunning landscapes and fun to walk around. Unfortunately the paths are poorly marked. Some are dangerous for days after it rains as they require passing through narrow areas above the valley floor and become slippery when wet.

http://wikitravel.org/en/G%C3%B6reme

Goreme Hiking Path (Love Valley)

Cappadocia 3rd part; Goreme Open-Air Museum

4-days Turkey Summer Solo Escapade
June 27 to July 03, 2014

Cappadocia 2nd part; Exploring Kaymakli Underground city

How to go to Goreme Open-air Museum;
This place is just 1km walk on the main road from Goreme bus terminal. Admission fee is 20TRY. Photography and video (with monopod and tripod) taking is permitted inside.

Göreme Open Air Museum has a collection of caves and fairy chimneys. Be sure to visit the church in a cave across the highway outside the museum entrance, whıch is included in museum admission (save your ticket). The museum is very small and repetitive (church next to church next to church). Some have nice frescos, but other have geometric motifs that can be seen for free in the chimneys across the street (easy hike). The churches are not all that impressive, if you've seen Meteora or other similar churches in Greece.

http://wikitravel.org/en/G%C3%B6reme

Goreme Open-Air Museum

Cappadocia 2nd part; Exploring Kaymakli Underground city

4-days Turkey Summer Solo Escapade
June 27 to July 03, 2014

Cappadocia 1st part; Hot Air Balloon above Turkey

How to go to Kaymakli Underground City;
From Goreme bus terminal, ride a minibus bound to Nevsehir on a 30-min departure interval and travel time for a 2.5TRY fare. Then, another minibus from Nevsehir to Kaymakli for a 3.5TRY on a 30-min travel time. Kaymakli Underground City entrance is just 300m away from the main road. Photography and video (with monopod & tripod) taking is permitted inside.

Kaymaklı Underground City is in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. First opened to tourists in 1964, the village is about 19 km from Nevşehir. The ancient name was Enegup. The houses in the village are constructed around the nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The tunnels are still used today as storage areas, stables, and cellars. The underground city at Kaymaklı differs from Derinkuyu in terms of its structure and layout. The tunnels are lower, narrower, and more steeply inclined. Of the four floors open to tourists, each space is organized around ventilation shafts. This makes the design of each room or open space dependent on the availability of ventilation. Kaymaklı is one of the largest underground settlements in the region. The large area reserved for storage in such a limited area appears to indicate the need to support a large population underground. Currently only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaymakl%C4%B1_Underground_City

inside Kaymakli Underground city

Cappadocia 1st part; Hot Air Balloon above Turkey

4-days Turkey Summer Solo Escapade
June 27 to July 03, 2014

Pamukkale last part; Side trip to Aphrodisias Ruins

How to go to Cappadocia;
I went here from Pamukkale flight to Istanbul to Kayseri as there there was no cheapest direct flight and ideal arrival timings on bus road trip. I aimed my 1st balloon flight adventure on daily schedule of 0400H via walk-in query only in Mislina travels in Pamukkale, booked together with airport transfer. Cheapest standard balloon flight costs 270TRY($128.6=PHP5,600). I arrived in Kayseri airport at 0130H then went out and saw immediately a man waving my name on a piece of paper. Airport transfer to Cappadocia costs 30TRY($14.3) for an hour minibus travel. I arrived in Urgup Balloons Office (Mislina travels booked me on this) at 0400H. I have my early free breakfast (unlimited tea and bread) while waiting for other tourists to arrive. Obviously, I didn't have sleep, the usual itinerary challenge on me on a very limited stay. Despite of that, it did not affect my excitement on what's waiting for me in the next few minutes.

I availed the cheapest tour, they called as the standard flight. They are going to pick you up from your hotel early in the morning by their vehicles in Göreme. They will offer you some coffee, tea and snack  foods. Then they will let us watch preparing balloons at the take-off area. Preparations normally takes 15-20 minutes, flights beginning with the sunrise. Pilots climb until 3000 feets from ground level to show you the beauty of Cappadocia. Also they can fly 1 meter close to the rocks as well to takes nice pictures and for fun. Standard Flight takes 60 minutes and they are using 16-20-26 persons basket. There will be champagne celebration at the end of the flight. They will offer Flight Certificate signed by the pilot (with no additional fee) to remind this experience to you. Afterwards,  they will drop us back to our hotels.

Hot Air Balloon above Cappadocia, Turkey