Cappadocia is way more than the area around Göreme, where most of all visitors are spending most of their time in this area. The Ihlara Valley is a beautiful part of Cappadocia with the Melendiz River flowing through it. There are hiking trails through this vale, which follow the Melendiz River most of the time. These tracks connect the many rock carved churches in Ihlara Valley. Ihlara Village is one entrance point into the valley and the settlement of Belisirma is accessing the glen as well.

It is a 1,5 hour drive from Göreme, the touristic capital of Cappadocia to the Ihlara Valley. The area between is used for mostly agricultural activity. Sheep and goat farming is very common as well as the cultivation of pumpin for their seeds. The pumpkins are harvested in fall.

30 kilometers south of Göreme is the town of Derinkuyu, which is home to Cappadocias deepest underground city.

The population of Derinkuyu is very friendly, and the percentage of arabic inhabitants is higher in this town.

My last stop in Cappadocia was the tiny village of Sognali, which is surrounded by epic sweeps of golden, moon-scape valleys and a beautiful canyon. The fantastical topography and the rock-cut houses are similar like in other parts of Cappadocia as well.
I left Cappadocia after 2,5 weeks eastwards to Eastern Anatolia.