Soganli Valley (Southern Cappadocia) Tour

After hotel pickups, your tour of the Southern Cappadocia will begin at Soganli Valley. This place has had occupants from ancient Roman times to as recent as 2011. The valley is split into two and has some exciting hiking trails, pigeon houses, and old churches carved into the rocks on either part.

Churches in the valley include Kubbeli, Yilanli, Karabas, and Tahtli (the Church of St.Barbara). Explore the cave churches and get a glimpse of beautiful frescoes that date back to 600 and 1400 AD. One particularly impressive fresco, Mature Jesus, depicts Jesus as an older man during Judgement Day. Enjoy this masterpiece and other incredible medieval art pieces during your tour of Soganli Valley.

Other interesting architectures in the valley include pigeon houses, where the monks collected pigeon droppings for fertilizer.

Next up are the ruins of the only Roman city in the whole of Cappadocia, Sobesos City. The ancient city lies in Sahinefendi Village, and although it is only partially excavated, Sobesos City is still worthy of a visit. Explore the site for a taste of Roman architecture, including a bath with an in-floor heating system, an Agora, a Bouleterion (parliament of some sort), and a Basilica.

At the Basilica, enjoy Roman art in the form of the best-preserved mosaics in the Cappadocia region.

After a tour of the ancient city, we will head to another one of Cappadocia’s interesting pieces of Byzantine architecture, the Keslik Monastery. This unusual monastery is carved entirely out of the rock, and despite being among the least visited religious structures in Cappadocia, it is an excellent place to tour.

The monastery, which could hold up to 200 monks at once, has three churches, living quarters, and refractories for the monks. Enjoy beautiful frescoes as you explore this unique architectural accomplishment that these monks once called home. The monks carved the monastery in the 6th or 7th century AD.

Sinasos Village is a peaceful town with captivating Greek architecture and fascinating history. Here, we will rest and have lunch before our tour of Southern Cappadocia resumes. After lunch, we head to Monastery Valley, a park valley in Mustafapasa with four rock-cut chapels and a monastery and fairy chimneys, which make for a lovely walk.

Other important sites in Sinasos include the churches of Constantine-Elene, St. Basil, and Aios Vasilios.

Your tour of the region will end here unless you are yet to visit the Highlights of Cappadocia and Ihlara Valley. If so, an optional tour of Kaymakli Underground city will be added by us.

Kaymakli underground city is the most expansive and exciting subterranean town in Cappadocia. The city was excavated during the Hittite period and was later used by the Christian refugees escaping from the persecution. Explore this awe-inspiring town and see the air shafts, barns, storage area, and other structures that made life in the city comfortable.