My Trip to Cappadocia

It was two years earlier when I first came across photos of hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia on the internet. I immediately fell in love with the strange, cone-shaped rock formations and the idea of flying over them in a hot air balloon.
The more I searched, the more interesting things I found. I came across photos of some really unusual hotels that looked more like museums. That made me even more interested. The rooms and the entire atmosphere of these hotels reminded me of the cartoon DuckTales (Nani and Igor), and everything looked almost too unreal to exist.
At that time, I usually traveled with organized tours, and since I couldn’t find any tours to Cappadocia, I gave up on the idea. That was until I had to travel to Ankara to apply for my Canadian tourist visa.
Since Ankara was the closest major city to Cappadocia and one of the ways to get there was through Ankara, I decided to spend a few days in Cappadocia as well.
After asking around, I found out that I couldn’t fly directly to Cappadocia from Ankara and would have to take a bus. So I spent one night in Ankara at a hotel near the visa biometrics center, and the next day I headed to the bus station.
At first, it was a little confusing because there weren’t any English signs or instructions. But after searching and wandering around for a while, I finally managed to buy a bus ticket, got on board, and my journey to Cappadocia began.
The bus made several stops along the way and eventually dropped us off at a station in the city of Nevşehir.
From there, I took a minibus to Göreme, the most famous part of Cappadocia.
The minibus fare was already included in the bus ticket I had purchased.
The hotel I had chosen was Sacred House, the same hotel I had been dreaming of staying in for the past two years.
The hotel was in another area called Ürgüp, about 15 minutes away from Göreme by car. It was possible to get there by bus, minibus, or taxi, but since taxis weren’t too expensive and I was already tired, I decided to take a taxi.
When I entered the hotel, I was completely shocked. For hours, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It felt like I had walked into a royal palace and had been given one of the king’s bedrooms.
I think I spent about three hours taking photos of my room and the surrounding areas before finally going for lunch.
After lunch, the lovely receptionist showed me the other rooms in the hotel. Every room was stranger and more interesting than the previous one. You can see them in the photos.
Another fascinating part of this hotel was its swimming pool. And what made the whole experience even more interesting was that I was the only guest staying there for two days. There was literally nobody else in the entire hotel.
I took a very strange and slightly scary elevator down to the pool area, and when I arrived, I found myself in an incredibly unusual atmosphere. There was even church music playing in the background.
The pool was illuminated with red lighting, and a huge chandelier hung down over the water. Candles were burning everywhere, and the front section of the pool was actually part of a cave.
Most hotels in Cappadocia are built inside caves, but the hotel I stayed in wasn’t particularly famous for being a cave hotel. What made it special was the museum-like design of its rooms and outdoor spaces, along with all the antique objects used throughout the property.
Even the bathrooms were almost as large as the living and sleeping areas. The unique bathtubs, unusual faucets, and exceptional interior design made it impossible to get tired of spending time there.
When evening came, I went out and explored the streets around Ürgüp. I really enjoyed walking through that old, traditional atmosphere.
At 5 AM the next morning, a minibus from the hot air balloon company arrived to pick me up. Balloon flights usually take place very early in the morning because the air is cooler.
The experience of riding in a hot air balloon is absolutely incredible, although I should mention that it’s a little scary too. It gets really cold up there, so make sure you bring warm clothes.
Fortunately, the burner that shoots flames into the balloon to lift it also provided some warmth, which made the cold more bearable and helped me feel more comfortable.
I spent a total of three days in Cappadocia and explored almost every part of the area. The caves, churches, and those strange cone-shaped rock formations rising out of the ground were absolutely worth seeing. At the same time, I couldn’t get enough of staying at that incredible hotel.
Three days really isn’t enough for Cappadocia, but since the hotel was so expensive, I couldn’t afford to stay any longer.
For my return journey, I took a bus back to Ankara and then flew from there to Iran.
It wasn’t long before I found myself traveling to Cappadocia again, just as excited as the first time. This time, however, I went with a few friends, and it turned out to be an amazing experience for them too.
Since I had more experience during my second visit, I spent less money and managed my time much better.
On our second trip, we spent one night at a hotel in Uçhisar because we could watch the hot air balloons early in the morning right from the hotel (definitely check out the photos).
Göreme is the most touristy part of Cappadocia and has more hotels, but it doesn’t have the same atmosphere as Uçhisar, and none of its hotels are quite like Sacred House. However, for food and shopping, I’d recommend going to Göreme and enjoying the atmosphere there at night.
Camping is also possible in Cappadocia. You can pitch your own tent at designated campsites for a very low price or use the tents and facilities available there (around 50,000 Iranian tomans per night at the time of my trip).
Food and transportation are also very inexpensive, costing around 50 Turkish lira per day.
A ticket to Ankara costs between 900 and 1,200, depending on when you travel.
So the biggest part of your travel expenses will probably be your hotel. Hotel prices are also negotiable and vary depending on the season, ranging from around 100,000 to 2 million Iranian tomans per night at the time of my travels.