This final leg of our Turkey trip covers Cappadocia and Ankara – fairy chimneys, two cancelled hot air balloon flights, the Salt Lake, and Atatürk’s mausoleum, before the high-speed train back to Istanbul with my parents and 1.5-year-old Parth.
Contrary to what many think, Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) is not a city or town. In fact, it is the name given to a region in central Turkey spanning across five major provinces. If you are planning to visits, some of the towns where you will visit and probably end up staying are Mustafapaşa, Ürgüp and Uçhisar.
Larger cities in the region are Aksaray, Kayseri and Nevşehir. As you might already know, Cappadocia brings to mind the images of “Fairy chimneys” and hot air balloons. What are these chimneys exactly? Read on to find out!
Day 5: Arriving in Cappadocia
We had to drive another 2.5 hours from Sultanhanı Caravanserai to our hotel in Mustafapaşa. We passed by the city of Aksaray (meaning “White Palace”). At the junction which led towards the city center, there was a huge statue of a dog that was native to this area – a large livestock guardian dog.
As we neared our destination, we could see our guide Abdul getting on multiple phone calls. He informed us that the hot air balloon ride – the biggest “attraction” in this trip – was cancelled due to strong winds. They had allowed some tourists to take a balloon the previous week in similar conditions and it resulted in a few deaths as well. So the tourism department was not going to take any chances now. Since we had two days here, we could try again the next day.
Our hotel, Hanedan Cappadocia Suites, was actually a bunch of caves! It was a cave hotel where all the rooms were carved into volcanic rock – the most unique hotel we’d ever stayed at! Each furniture had a tag which mentioned the year it was made in – a lot of stuff was from the Ottoman era. It was super cold at night and we quickly had dinner and concluded the day where we spent over 8 hours on the road.
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Day 6: Fairy Chimneys & the Cancelled Balloon
For the first time in the trip, we got to sleep till about 7am – mainly because the hot air balloon was cancelled. Otherwise, we were looking at a 3am start! We had a nice and slow breakfast in the largest cave which was the dining area.
How the Fairy Chimneys Formed
We started on our bus from Mustafapaşa towards Ürgüp (also within the Cappadocia region) – that’s when we saw the crazy landscape for the first time! There were rocks shaped like mushrooms and chimneys. These formations were made over millennia – a work of the artists called volcanic eruption and erosion.
The upper layer of the volcanic eruption was harder and the lower layers were more porous. So, when erosion happened over the thousands of years that ensued, the lower layers started breaking apart while the upper layer stayed strong – resulting in the mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys that we see today!
Carpet & Pottery Workshops in Avanos
We first visited a carpet factory – the place had huge open rooms where they were laying down carpets. I would have loved to pick up a smaller one – the designs were exquisite but too expensive. Parth absolutely loved it here as he could run around without any obstacles. We were served pomegranate tea – combining the best of two things from Turkey – it was lip-smacking good!
Next up was a pottery factory. These are typical touristy things when you visit Cappadocia. This town, called Avanos, lay next to the longest river in Turkey, the Kızılırmak. The clay on its banks were widely used for pottery.
Parth was intrigued by the designs here and we had to rush out before it turned into a bull (baby) in a china shop situation! We found him something more interesting – a bike!
Göreme National Park & Uçhisar Castle
Sightseeing was up next. We visited the famous Göreme National Park. Abdul explained that the caves here were used as schools by Christian missionaries in the 12th century. But the actual age of the caves hasn’t been ascertained yet. Some of the structures were similar to the rock cut buildings in Petra, Jordan.
We had fun climbing some of the narrow stairs into tiny caves. There were plenty of photo-worthy spots scattered across the national park. We also saw one cave which had paintings – the colours of which were still intact.
We had our lunch at a cave hotel (of course!) and visited some more viewpoints like the Uçhisar castle, another interesting fairy chimney .
At night, just before dinner, Abdul informed us that the weather continued to be windy and the balloons were cancelled for the next day as well. While we got perfect weather throughout the day at ground level, it was quite gusty at the heights where a hot air balloon typically flew up to. So, with a heavy heart, we decided to move on to our next destination, Ankara.
Day 7: Salt Lake, Ankara & the Train Back to Istanbul
Given the sheer size of the country, most days in a Turkey trip would be spent travelling between cities. We started from Cappadocia towards Ankara and would be back in Istanbul by the end of the day – a long journey!
Tuz Gölü: Turkey’s Salt Lake
Our first stop was Tuz Gölü (literally “Salt Lake”). It was a slight deviation from the main highway and we went towards one of the banks. It is one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world – the largest is the Dead Sea (check out our blog from the Dead Sea). We were told that flamingos would flock here – but usually not at this time of the year.
Even though, there were no flamingos, the view was beautiful – there was a shallow layer of water which was mostly still and reflected the entire sky. You couldn’t tell where the water ended and sky began! It was extremely windy and chilly – my ears froze as I stood there. Parth found a park with a slide and made that his project!
Ankara: Atatürk’s Mausoleum (Anıtkabir)
We continued our drive from Cappadocia to Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. Our plan here was to visit Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s mausoleum (called Anıtkabir). Mustafa Kemal is the founding father of the Republic of Turkey – taking over the reins after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the first World War.
He brought in a lot of progressive policies which ushered Turkey to become a developed, secular and modern state. We paid our respects and watched the changing of the guard – which included representation from all divisions of the armed forces. Parth absolutely loved the open courtyard – he had endless space to run!
The High-Speed Train Back to Istanbul
We had some amazing doner kebab at Anıt Lezzet for lunch and proceeded to take a high speed train from Ankara to Istanbul. It was Parth’s first time on a high speed train! We got back to Istanbul by night. The station was on the Asia side but our hotel was on the Europe side. We had to drive through a lot of traffic and crossed back over for the last leg of our journey.
Day 8 started off with an earthquake. Yes, you heard that right! Read all about it and the historical monuments of Istanbul right here.
If you’re going: practical notes
- Stay: Hanedan Cappadocia Suites is a cave hotel carved into volcanic rock – unique, but cold at night in November; pack warm layers.
- Getting around: We covered Cappadocia, Tuz Gölü and Ankara on a guided group bus tour, then took a high-speed train from Ankara back to Istanbul.
- Food: Try pomegranate tea at any carpet or pottery workshop stop – a simple combo that’s genuinely worth it.
- Watch out for: Hot air balloons get cancelled often for wind, especially outside peak summer – budget two days in Cappadocia if the ride matters to you, since even that’s no guarantee.
Cappadocia and Ankara: Quick Answers
How often do Cappadocia hot air balloon flights get cancelled due to wind?
Both of our scheduled flights were cancelled for high winds, and that’s not unusual – Cappadocia balloons run around 30% cancellations on average, higher in the November-to-April window we were travelling in. If the ride matters to you, build in at least two days as a buffer.
How were the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia formed?
Our guide explained it as millions of years of volcanic eruption followed by erosion – the harder upper rock layer resisted wind and water while the softer layer beneath wore away, leaving the mushroom-shaped pillars still standing today.
What is Anıtkabir, and can you visit Atatürk’s mausoleum in Ankara?
Yes, it’s open to the public and free to visit. We watched the changing of the guard, which included representatives from every branch of the armed forces, and paid our respects at Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s tomb.
Is Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) worth a stop between Cappadocia and Ankara?
We thought so – it’s a short detour off the highway, and the still water reflecting the sky made it hard to tell where one ended and the other began. It was extremely windy and cold when we visited, so dress warm even if it’s sunny.
Is Cappadocia still worth it if your hot air balloon flight gets cancelled?
We had both our flights cancelled and still had a full two days – fairy chimney landscapes, Göreme National Park’s rock-cut caves, a cave hotel stay, and carpet and pottery workshops in Avanos kept us busy without ever going up in a balloon.
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This brings us to the close of our Turkish adventure. Thank you all for tuning in. Here are all the other blogs of Turkey so that you jump back in to check out details you may have missed. And as always, don’t forget to leave your comments below and subscribe to the blog.
- The Turkey Itinerary – planning a perfect trip to the crossroads of Asia and Europe
- Lahmacun, Pide and Kunefe – Eating our way through Istanbul
- Unfinished business in Istanbul and an Earthquake – unforgettable experiences
- Troy, a giant horse and forgotten Greek cities in Turkey – travelling in western Turkey via Çanakkale, Asklepion and Ephesus
- Cotton Castles and Whirling Dervishes – exploring the towns of Pamukkale, Konya and Sultanhanı Caravanserai
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