Mustafapaşa is located in the region of Cappadocia in central Turkey. It is a rural region far from the bustling city life of Istanbul.
İnanılmaz Mustafapaşa (Incredible Mustafapaşa)
We arrive in Mustafapaşa, after a bus ride of about 200 miles. We are here for three nights, and our hotel is spectacular. The Upper Greek House. The rooms were all unique and incredible. Probably everyone's favorite hotel on the tour. We get to enjoy this hotel for three nights, with lots of time on our own to explore the region.
Day 5. Lots of sites to explore! A full day in Mustafapaşa and the neighboring area.
Day 6. Another full day in Mustafapaşa. More exploring the Cappadocia region.
Day 7. Leaving Mustafapaşa and on our way to Konya
Güzel Mustafapaşa (Beautiful Mustafapaşa)
Day 4 - continued. We arrive in another world - Cappadocia, Turkey. After a long bus ride, we have a brief scenic photo stop and settle in for dinner and save the sightseeing for tomorrow.
We are here!
Our first stop in Cappadocia - some great views, ice cream and souvenirs.
Evil Eye
The evil eye is everywhere and here it is overlooking the other-worldly Cappadocia region.
Right in the heart of Turkey
A whole different eco-system with wide-open spaces, and we are only a few hours from the metropolis of Ankara, but we are now in rural Cappadocia.
Dinner with the group after arrival in Cappadocia
Dinner at the Old Greek House Restaurant. The entire group sits down for dinner in a relaxing, but formal dinner setting. This restaurant was just a short walk from our hotel, so anyone that preferred to walk, were welcome to enjoy the neighborhood. It was a beautiful walk in the evening, with a very ancient town vibe. Spotted along the walk, no surprises, cows, dogs, cats, and horses.
Group Dinner
Everyone is getting seated and ready for a great meal to top off the busy day.
Dinner Guest
This guy sat under our table at dinner and played with a pinecone. At one point, he unexpectedly jumped right into my lap!
Mustafapaşa'da uyanmak (Waking up in Mustafapaşa)
Day 5 - Our first full day in the Cappadocia region of Turkey
Mustafapaşa village walk
The group enjoys a nice stroll through the village with Yaren explaining the history and natural science around this area. We were lucky to have some perfect weather as well.
Walking through town
The group continues a village walk courtesy of Yaren. I think everyone in the group really had a great time in Mustafapaşa. It was nice to get to stay here for three nights.
Göreme Open Air Museum
Yaren gave a great detailed description of the history of this museum. It was really interesting, but mostly everyone just wanted to get in there and start climbing on the rocks and exploring the caves.
Exploring the open air museum
In this picture, you see one of our group members climbing up to the top of the cave. I wasn't even comfortable stepping into the first floor, but for some it was worth the climb.
And here is what that looks like from a distance
Please don't fall!
I'm not sure what I'm about to get into
Well...here I go.
Finally, I can get some rest?
I'm not sure if this is a bed, or what?!?
Lunch with the whole group
Lunch at Chef Remzi restaurant.
They are ready for all of us
Tables are all set, and they are ready to seat us. As you can see, the restaurants on this tour are unique and beautiful.
Salad and bread
We start off with parsley salad and bread before finishing off some beans and doner.
Meet the local - Fahriye
We stop in Ortahisar, Nevşehir to visit a local woman, Fahriye, who lives here with her sister. They have lived here for many, many years and provide a lot of insight into what it is like to live in Cappadocia. Here our whole group enjoys her hospitality at her home. You'll find her seated in the very back of the photo, wearing the local garb.
Sightseeing in Mustafapaşa
We can choose to rest or go see more sights. Plenty of time to rest back at home in a couple of weeks, but for now, we must carry-on!
Exploring Mustafapaşa, Literally
Maybe I took the exploring on your own a little bit too seriously. It was really fun to have a few hours to see the neighborhood and really explore the whole area.
BBQ dinner with the group
Dinner grilled out on the patio and served in "cave" rooms to create a fun ambiance. The whole group enjoyed dining at the Seraphim Cave Restaurant.
Not related to Yaren!
At dinner tonight, we were lucky enough to have Yaren join our table, where we were able to confirm that Yaren is NOT related to the professional basketball player Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu.
Kapadokya'yı Keşfetmek (Exploring Cappadocia)
Day 6 - Our second full day in Mustafapaşa - cave cities, carpets, underground cities and more!
Our group first arrives at Paşabağ Valley
Everyone is seeing Paşabağ Valley for the first time, except Yaren, of course!
Paşabağ Valley
This is where you'll find the fairy-chimney formations that make this area so popular to visit. We get to spend a couple of hours here exploring the entire area and the views from all around are incredible. As with most of this tour, be sure to bring your walking shoes!
I'm climbing on the rocks again
I didn't expect another day of rock climbing. Here I am again. These chimneys at Paşabağ Valley are a little less user-friendly and require a little more agility than the Göreme Open Air Museum.
The group enjoying the views
Atop the hill at Paşabağ Valley, our group is busy chatting and shooting pictures.
Carpet Co-op
Let's be honest. Either you love it, or you hate it when it comes to buying carpets in another country. In this case, at least the sellers entertained the group with some explanation of carpet manufacturing process (spoiler alert - their method is the BEST!) and served a nice lunch. They showed a lot of carpets, really a lot. Quite a few members of the group were happy to buy a new carpet or two and it is always nice to see people in your group smiling and happy with their purchase. For those not interested, once the sales pitch was mercifully over, you could leave and enjoy the countryside around the co-op, and they even had some women weaving carpets and giving demos to those that were interested in the process.
Learning to make a carpet
The group is watching intently while the sales staff explains why they do it better than anyone else in the carpet industry.
Try them out on those sore bones
Everyone a little tired from such a busy agenda? Try out these carpets for maximum comfort.
Kaymakli Underground City
I decided to not visit the underground city, but I did go in just to check things out. The weather outside was perfect, so I wandered around the neighborhood and waited for the group to finish their exploration of the underground city. As with any Rick Steves tour, you don't have to participate in any activity that you aren't comfortable doing.
Getting ready to go underground
The group gets the orientation before heading underground...to an underground CITY!
No thank you
I take a look and decide to pass.
Three Sisters
We make a quick unscheduled stop to see the "Three Sisters". This is an iconic rock formation found in Cappadocia. It has become more popular recently because of a Turkish soap opera of the same name.
Dinner on our own
Time to enjoy some local cuisine from a small, local restaurant. Sinasos erkut usta was the name of the restaurant. As usual, the wait staff was really friendly and helpful. The food was great, and the ambience of the surrounding area was fantastic. They even provided blankets to keep warm during the cooler evening hours.
konya'ya uğur (Off to Konya)
Day 7 - We depart Cappadocia early in the morning to head towards Konya.
Visit with an Imam
Along the way, we stop to visit an Imam. He was a friendly guy, and the entire group went inside to join the festivities. Although I'm sure his message didn't resonate with most in the group, he did have a nice singing voice and demonstrated some of his abilities for us upon request. Yaren made sure we all kept to the safe topics and didn't stray too far off kilter as she was the moderator who translated our questions for him.
Group photo with the Imam
Everyone gathered together for a group photo to help remember the experience of chatting with an Imam in Turkey. He even joined us for the photo!
Lunch with the group en route
Another cafeteria style lunch on your own but with the group while traveling through Turkey. Nice to pick and choose what you would like to eat for lunch based on your mood and, of course, how hungry you are! Save room for ice cream - there is a MADO right next door. MADO has the best ice cream in Turkey, and they don't try and entertain you. Don't be fooled by the booths selling "ice cream" in order to perform tricks for the buyer. Those booths are located throughout all of Turkey, and they aren't really popular for the ice cream, but more popular just for the entertainment.
Here's what the cafeteria looks like inside
It looks a lot nicer inside than you would expect when you first see it from the outside.
MADO
Here is what the MADO ice cream looks like.
Caravanserai Turkey
This is a place where road warriors could rest along their journey. Similar to a modern-day hotel, the caravanserai provided a place to rest, recover, and stock up on food and supplies. How fitting that we too decide to stop here to stretch our legs as we head from Cappadocia to Konya.
An interesting visit for the group
We are greeted by dogs, ruins, a very nice carpet exhibit, and very strange artwork!
I told you it was strange
There was a whole exhibit of art just like this at the Caravanserai. The artwork is great, but what an unexpected place to find it on display.
Gallery of Pictures #1
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Some of my favorite pictures from Mustafapaşa divided into two galleries, scroll down to see the second gallery of pictures...