We had a week of break before meeting family in Greece, so we decided to spend a week in Turkey.

We started with three nights in Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey famed for its otherworldly landscapes. Like many visitors, we hoped to experience Cappadocia on a sunrise hot air balloon ride. By “we,” I mean Simon, Mila, and I, as Alden was a bit wary of the whole thing. After researching hot air balloon safety, vetting our specific balloon company, considering some promised bribes, and some encouragement from one of his favorite teachers, he tentatively seemed like he would join us. He said he would have investigated the balloon and rig for safety and interrogated the pilot before making his final decision. However, our balloon reservations were canceled all three days due to wind. Alas, it did not stop us from having an unforgettable adventure in this remarkable place.

On our first afternoon, we headed to the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is believed to have originally been a Byzantine monastery and later a 17th-century pilgrimage site. It was an impressive collection of rock-cut churches, chapels, and monasteries filled with carved motifs and painted frescos. It was the busiest of the places we visited, but I had fun using my phone camera’s object eraser to erase all the tourists and trash cans from my photos (full disclosure).

Our cave hotel room at the Vineyard Cave Hotel was lovely, and it was a novelty to sleep in a cave hotel. Alden declared that sleeping in a cave is “too dark,” which reminded me of when two-year-old Alden reviewed the water park we visited as “too splashy.” Mila and I made it up to the top balcony by sunrise each morning, where she enjoyed playing with the resident cats. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to watch the sunrise with the view of all the balloons floating up across the valley. Each morning after sunrise, we enjoyed breakfast in the hotel with a spread of about 70 different items- cheeses, olives, nuts, fresh and dried fruits, veggies, and more along with freshly squeezed juice, cappuccinos, and eggs cooked to order.

On our first full day, we drove to Kaymakli, one of two famous underground cities in the area. The kids had fun crawling through the small entryways and tunnels that took us around the visitable parts of the city. We saw stables, cooking areas, family dwellings, wineries, a church, and storage areas. Our guide helped us imagine what the place might have been like when it was occupied. He also told us that local kids have always used the city to play hide and seek and that the kids use other secret entrances to get in.

We geared up next for a hike in the Ihlara Valley. We started our hike in Ihlara where we descended 400 stairs to the trail, which followed in both directions alongside the river. The first third of the trail was well-marked and had fun handcrafted accents like decorative wooden benches and funky sculptures. Along the trail were several short tangential trails up to cave churches that contained painted frescoes and carved arches. Sadly, many of the frescos had been defaced over time and were not as well protected or preserved as the ones in the Goreme museum.

After about an hour of hiking, we came across a river cafe where you could enjoy tea, coffee, freshly squeezed juice, or a snack while seated above the river on a covered and cushioned platform. As we sipped our tea and juice, we watched the local ducks swim and dive. We even witnessed a brutal duck fight on the shore, which ended with a splashy chase right past our table.

After a nice lounge, we put our boots back on and continued on our way through the valley, enjoying the idyllic landscapes and the covered rocks. From the trail, you could see evidence of cliffside dwellings, including dovecotes that were used to attract pigeons and collect their poop. The nitrogen-rich poop was an essential fertilizer for farmers in the area.

The trail next entered the town of Belisirma and we had lunch at another river cafe. Outside the cafe were ladies selling dried fruit and nuts of all sorts. We enjoyed the samples and our interaction with our fruit vendor, despite her calling Alden a girl and Mila a baby. We bought a kilo of mixed dried fruit for about $5, which we nibbled on during the rest of our hike.

We somehow lost the trail and climbed up through the village til we came to a viewpoint where we saw the trail down below. After checking out another cliffside church, we found a way to safely bush-whack back to the trail.

The next section was just stunning as we walked along the river below beautiful rock cliffs dotted with cave dwellings and even a mosque built into the rocks. Though it was a historical site, it appeared to be still in use as the floor was covered in prayer rugs. During this part of the hike, we saw only a few other people. We saw a group of locals picnicking, an elderly couple gathering firewood, and another local family chatting with an adventurous bicyclist who seemed to be touring on his bike. It was hard to imagine how he would manage the trail with his loaded bike, but he seemed undaunted.

The trail finally emerged in the town of Selime. We arrived too late to view the cathedral, but a local man took us up to see a church and to a viewpoint of the fairy chimneys. This guy told us that Star Wars Episode IV was filmed there, that his grandmother lived there in 77 and remembers when it was filmed. The internet would not confirm this story, saying that it is an unconfirmed rumor that Star Wars was filmed in Cappadocia. We got a ride back to our car and headed back to Goreme for dinner.

Day two started with a climb up to the highest point in the area – Uchisar castle, a fortress that served as the main defensive site in the area. Mila delighted in finding different holes to climb into and exploring all the different passageways.

The view from the top was spectacular, a 360° panorama of all the villages, canyons, and fairy chimneys in the surroundings. We had Turkish coffee, hot cocoa, and snacks in town after descending back down the 125 steps.

On our way to lunch, we passed by the Devrent Valley, nicknamed Imagination Valley, because, with imagination, you can see all kinds of things in the form of the rocks. For example, this camel:

We also stopped briefly for a view of Pigeon Valley. At the viewpoint were trees decorated with blue eyes, used to protect against the evil eye, and hundreds of pigeons. The kids had fun chasing the pigeons while we considered whether to buy any “natural viagra.”

Our lunch was probably our top culinary highlight in Cappadocia. We climbed the steps to the restaurant and gently knocked and opened the door. Five local women were sitting around a table on cushions, enjoying their lunch. They welcomed us in, and through a mix of pointing, charades, and Google translate, we managed to order the most delicious feast of soup, dolmas, and meat and cheese manti (Turkish dumplings). After our meal, we watched them make the dumplings. The whole experience felt like we were guests in their home.

Before lunch, I had been hoping to get Mila’s bangs trimmed. We passed about 15 men’s barber shops but not a single shop for women or kids. The restaurant ladies recommended a shop and we finally found it. Mila had 5 people helping or watching her bang trim. We think the parents in the family were training the kids but it was a bit too much attention for Mila. But doesn’t she look extra cute now that you can see her eyes?

Next stop, back to the rocks- we visited Pasabag Valley. Again, we wandered around the rocks exploring the small dwellings built within the mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys.

Just as we were ready to leave, the rain started, so we decided to head to the town of Avanos where we had heard you could try your hand at pottery. Mila had fun trying out the manual potter’s wheel at Erkaya Seramik, where the third-generation owner Batu showed her the tricks to making a bowl. The showroom was expansive with lots of beautiful pieces.

Alden’s social studies class had recently studied about the Silk Road, so he was curious about our next stop at the Saruhan Caravanserai. The site was built in 1259 and served as a rest stop on the Silk Road for traveling salesmen. The inner courtyard would have been a bustling trading market, while the smaller rooms would serve as accommodations for the night. We watched a demonstration of a Whirling Dervish ceremony, a meditative ritual inspired by Rumi, the 13th-century poet, Islamic scholar, and mystic.

For our last morning, we hiked in the Red and Rose valleys, named for the color that the rocks glow during the sunset. We missed visiting at sunset due to the rain the previous night, but it was gorgeous during the daytime as well.

Near the midpoint of our hike, we rounded a corner and discovered a cafe- a fresh-squeezed juice bar, a few picnic tables, and a kitchen carved into the rocks. Above the cafe was another church with frescos, carvings, and beautiful views.

If Cappadocia is not yet on your travel “bucket list,” I highly recommend that you add it! The hiking is outstanding, and there are so many other possibilities – a sunrise balloon ride, horseback riding, or longer treks through all the different valleys.  We feel so fortunate to have experienced such a unique place during our short but satisfying stay.