The second stop on my day exploring the area around Safranbolu was outside the village of İncekaya to see the Tokatlı Canyon and İncekaya Aqueduct.
On a day trip from Safranbolu, my first stop was the Bulak Mencilis Cave (Bulak Mencilis Mağarası) near the village of Bulak. It’s the fourth longest cave in Turkey.
Hıdırlık Hill (Hıdırlık Tepesi) is a small hill overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage listed old town of Safranbolu. It’s worth the short hike up to the top, where there’s also a tea garden.
While it’s a great place just to wander and take in the incredible scenery and gorgeous Ottoman homes, the UNESCO World Heritage listed old town of Safranbolu has a few other sights to keep a visitor busy during their stay.
In a country of magnificent scenery and history, the old town of Safranbolu is one of Turkey’s finest. This small Black Sea Region town is situated in a ravine and is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its fine 17th and 18th century Ottoman architecture.
The small town of Hacıbektaş wasn’t on my schedule for the day. I was passing through and decided to stop and I’m glad I did. Although I have to go back and see more, I really enjoyed my short stay in the town and it produced one of my best memories of Turkey.
When I told my students in Istanbul I was visiting Kırşehir, I got funny looks and lots of “why?”. They had a point. Kırşehir is a mostly uninteresting city in Central Anatolia.
Eski Gümüşler Monastery (Eski Gümüşler Manastırı) is a Byzantine-era cave monastery rediscovered in 1963. It’s located a short drive from the city of Niğde.
When I first arrived in Niğde, I was second guessing my choice to visit. It’s not a beautiful city by any means. Outside of the decent city center, this Central Anatolian city is an otherwise dusty and ugly town. However, once I started exploring, I realized it’s been blessed with a few unique sites built by four different civilizations.
Kayseri is a large city but most of the attractions can be found in the compact historic city center. Everything of interest is pretty much within walking distance.