Guzelyurt, Cappadocia, Turkey a logistical discussion with link to higlights mentioned

 April 18-20, 2026

On Saturday we drove from Mustapaşa to Guzelyurt.  We stopped and walked the Monastery Valley which was a springtime delight with trees in full blossom, lush vibrant grasses and a couple churches and great rock color contrasts. See blog post https://www.grayhairedglobetrotter.com/2026/04/monastery-valleymanastir-vadisi.html   John suggested we take a dirt road and stop at Valley of Churches which I will remember as Valley of Horses. We were the only visitors! Many horses, 20? Who were curious and gentle. The two churches we saw were charming, one had frescoes and the other columns. Wildflowers, blooming trees and shrubs, a gravel path to a more desolate place and wished we’d had time to walk further down the valley. Details blogpost  www.grayhairedglobetrotter.com/2026/04/valley-of-churches-sarica-monastery.html. The dirt road was fine and happy we have SUV (but not necessary).  Clouds started to build,  making fab photos. We then drove through Goreme which is a madhouse/tourist mecca and stopped for a great doner at Kősem, so good in fact, we returned the next day when we were driving through.  Our final stop of the day was Love Valley which was disappointing due all the tourist attractions distracting the busloads from the beauty of the spot. https://www.grayhairedglobetrotter.com/2026/04/love-valley-cappadocia-turkey.html

From here, we drove to Guzelyurt. What a quiet community for a more authentic Turkish experience. After our 3rd road trip to/from Guzelyurt, our friend commented "All roads to Guzelyurt are adventure roads!".  

Sunday morning we woke up to rain.   We decided to drive back to Goreme to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum.  We had car trouble that caused delays and made it a real adventure. Avis roadside assistance number didn't work!  They couldn't explain why when we returned and exchanged car. Fortunately our friend is an amateur mechanic and John has a good knack for this stuff and they found the cap to the coolant reservoir was left off. They emptied my water bottle in coolant reservoir and we made it to an Avis and exchanged cars (simplified version). 

Returned to Kősem doner shop. We were lucky to have only light rain at the Goreme Open Air Museum. This in the primary tourist attraction here, however, there are other open air museums in the region.  While Claude suggested this was a good rainy day activity, in more than a drizzle, you'll get wet between churches.  We had very lucky timing. It wasn't crowded, perhaps because of the rain? 

Frescoes are the highlight at Goreme's Open Air Museum. and guidebooks provide a lot of information

church frescoes

table

 

 

no info here, but believe it was placed here to demonstrate burial sites in churches

 

 

As we returned to Guzelyurt, the rain changed to snow, it's about 5000ft elevation, everywhere else was about  4000ft. Jani suggested we stop at the Red Church.

 

Since 2008, the Kızıl Kilise has been listed on the World Monuments Watch as an important site to preserve. ( https://wowcappadocia.com/kizil-kilise-red-church.html) Probably erected in the sixth century during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), the edifice is one of the oldest Christian shrines of the Cappadocia region^[3][4] and one of the oldest churches known to have a cupola on a drum with windows that illuminate the interior.^[5] The church was possibly dedicated to Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the fathers of the Cappadocian church. (wikipedia) This church was a highlight, so different from every other one build into rock/fairy chimneys.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on our drive back from Red Church to Guzelyurt (about 15 min), note how the cows are in staying next to the line

 

 

Monday we drove through the Ilhara Valley as we left Guzelyurt. It had rained heavily so the hike we planned was out. The shepherd caught our attention 

 

sheep and shepherd 

 

cemetery 

Jani and Warren walked up to Cömlekçi Kilisesi (church) & shared the following 3 photos: 

We drove out of the Ilarha valley towards Kayseri airport.  Our next stop was Ağzikarahan (Hoca Mesut Caravanseral) (1231-1239) a stop along the Silk Road   

I started to try to write, but thought you'd enjoy reading the info. It's a short distance off the road and a very very small town and a man from the home across the street pops over to collect the very nominal entry fee.

  

 

The next stop as we returned our friends to the Kayseri Airport was another caravan stop on the Silk Road.  Saruhan Caravanserai was built in 1249. It has been developed for generating money--they offer whirling dervish shows and the side rooms are used for photo shoots. They have the best bathrooms so I suspect it's a tour bus stop.

 W

 This is a room used for photo shoots (like parties/engagements etc)

When/if you're near the Kayseri Airport, be sure to keep you eyes open for storks! It's the only place I've spotted them.

We packed in a lot in the 3 days we shared in Cappadocia with our friends. Can't thank them enough for renting a flat in Istanbul and inviting us to join them.  Great travel companions with adventuresome spirits.