Cappadocia
The blue-columned Cemil Church with its extremely defaced fresco fragments overlooks a hill slope of derelict Greek mansions. Follow the alleyway winding down through sleepy Cemil village to find it. These days the keepers tend to keep the church locked so phone ahead to see if they can open it up for you.
Cemil is around 6km south of Mustafapaşa and signposted on the main Soğanlı road.
10.34 MILES
The trails that loop around Güllüdere Vadısı (Rose Valley) are easily accessible to all levels of walkers and provide some of the finest fairy-chimney…
9.32 MILES
The highlight of Göreme Open-Air Museum is the stunning and fully restored Dark Church, famed for the vivid colours and excellent preservation of its…
9.4 MILES
This Unesco World Heritage site is an essential stop on any Cappadocian itinerary. First thought to be a Byzantine monastic settlement that housed some 20…
10.79 MILES
The road between Çavuşin and Avanos passes a turn-off to the Zelve Open-Air Museum, where three valleys of crumbling cave-habitations and churches…
10.76 MILES
Kaymaklı underground city features a maze of tunnels and rooms carved eight levels deep into the earth, though only four are open to the public. The…
9.78 MILES
One of the best views of Kızılçukur (Red) Valley's fang-like rock cones and wavy cliff ridges is from this lookout point, signposted off the highway,…
9.46 MILES
The Buckle Church is 50m back down the hill towards Göreme and across the road from the main Open-Air Museum complex, but is covered by the same entrance…
12.46 MILES
Let's get one thing straight: despite its science-fiction setting, no scene in Star Wars was ever filmed near Soğanlı. But don't despair Chewbacca fans;…
0.67 MILES
About 200 monks once lived at this rock-cut Byzantine monastery complex amid its labyrinth caverns, which include living quarters, refectory and kitchen…
2 MILES
The village of Taşkınpaşa, on the road to Soğanlı, some 7km south of Keşlik Monastery, takes its name from its 600-year-old Seljuk mosque. It's usually…
4.32 MILES
By far the most interesting religious building in Monastery Valley, this small monastery, centred around a small courtyard and semi-built into rock cones,…
4.37 MILES
This Roman-era site is signposted off the main route heading to Soğanlı, right after the entry to Şahinefendi village. A walkway leads past various…
4.38 MILES
Follow Zafer Caddesi to the old bridge at the end of the village to head out into this small valley studded with fairy chimneys. There are four rock…
4.64 MILES
Between Sinasos Meydanı and Cumhuriyet Meydanı is a 19th-century medrese (seminary) with a finely carved portal. The stone columns on either side of the…
7. Ayios Kostantinos-Eleni Kilise
4.66 MILES
Right on Mustafapaşa's main square is the imposing Ayios Kostantinos-Eleni Kilise, erected in 1729 and restored in 1850. A fine stone grapevine runs…
7.24 MILES
This rarely visited 11th-century church is snuggled amid a particularly photogenic vista of orange-hued rock. The small nave has a dazzling interior of…