Historical Sightseeing

Most visitors of the AladaÄŸlar come for some serious mountaineering, climbing or bird watching, but you shouldn’t forget that we are also surrounded by history. Most of these historical places can be reached within 0,5 to 2,5 hours driving.

 

Just 30 minutes from ÇukurbaÄŸ to NiÄŸde you can find the little underground pearl GümüÅŸler Monastery. Like Cappadocia this area is known for its underground living quarters, though not many tourists come here. The 10th century old monastery has a very well preserved church with some eye-catching and breath-taking frescoes.

 

About 1,5 hours driving from ÇukurbaÄŸ you can go for a 14 kilometre hike in Ihlara Canyon. Not only is it a beautiful hike, it is even more interesting because of the many cave churches and dwellings you can enter. In the old days eighty thousand people used to live here. Nearby Ihlara you can visit Güzelyurt situated at the foot of the old volcano Hasan. You can visit several old churches and also cave dwellings. It is a pretty interesting and not very touristy place.

 

If you go north to Cappadocia (a one hour drive from my pension) you can visit the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu. These cities are absolutely amazing and a must see for everyone who visits Anatolia. And of course there is Cappadocia itself. A fairy-tale landscape where you can hike as well as you can go hot air ballooning. Göreme is about two hours driving from ÇukurbaÄŸ.

 

More to the northeast you can visit Kayseri. This is a pretty busy, but old Roman imperial town with a beautifully preserved citadel. The city is situated at the foot of Erciyes DaÄŸ. An old volcano of 3.916 metres where you can ski during the winter.