Ortahisar Evi, Derinkuyu Underground City and Ihlara Valley. Cappadocia, Turkey

We stayed at this pleasant little mansion called Ortahisar Evi. It is beautiful and extremely comfortable with modern facilities available. It has only 5 spacious rooms so you have to check ahead to make sure it is not fully booked.







From the top of the roof, you can see the towering Ortahisar Castle which my friends climbed the next day. I was contented to just walk around the surrounding area around the castle.



We had a delicious breakfast at the hotel before heading for the Derinkuyu Underground City and Ihlara Valley, our last spots before leaving Cappadocia altogether.



Derinkuyu Underground City is carved out of relatively soft tufa. It existed to provide refuge from invading armies. There are 8 floors in this underground town, most of it is accessible to the tourists. If you are claustrophobic, then I suggest you don't go down there. Imagine living there....



It is pretty cool in there, a welcome relief from the heat. We walked all the way down and we were the only ones there at tht time....so it was somewhat eerie. Taking pictures was difficult as the only sources of light were the electric bulbs they placed along the path.



After visiting the underground city, we left for Ihlara Valley. It was wow. You can actually walk the entire valley but it will take you a good 8 hours.....and plenty of water and a good pair of walking shoes!



At the bottom of the Valley, there was a small stream. We walked down 360 steps to get to the bottom of the Valley. There are churches along the whole valley floor which you can visit. The view from below is fantastic.



If you peer closely, you can see the entrances to the churches. Pictures do not do this place justice. You just have to go there to get the feel of the place. You will be humbled by the sheer size and beauty of it.



Another view of the Valley, halfway down the steps. We had limited time so we had to rushed all the way to the top. It is no joke trying to run up all those steps...we gave up halfway and walked to the top.



On our way out of Ihlara Valley, we had to stop for the sheeps to cross the road. I am used to having cows and goats crossing the road back home but not sheeps. Something new.



And lastly, I had to put this photo up. Before heading towards Ortahisar Evi to spend the night, we had dinner at Akdeniz, a kebap restaurant in Nevşehir. One of the owners saw me taking pictures of the food and asked what I will do with it. So Başak told him that I might put it up in my blog site and he asked for the web's address. Alas, the pictures did not turned out well but the food was nice. Thank you.