Playground in the Snow – Cappadocia, Türkiye

When you arrive, it may feel as though you are on a different planet, but in truth, you are still on planet Earth, in the region of Türkiye best known as the ‘Land of the ‘Fairy Chimneys’ – Cappadocia.

In the summer season, while huge numbers of tourists flood into this ancient region where odd conical rock formations, cave dwellings, hundreds of fresco filled churches and a labyrinth of underground cities have prevailed for centuries, we have decided to explore this magical destination during the winter months.

Winter brings a time when you might think the tourists have left, the streets are empty and the local people could well be hibernating in the warmth of their fairy chimney caves. For us, along with some of our more ambitious local friends and our dogs, this is the perfect time to grab our winter jackets and boots, to be out in a totally different mysterious world wondering how the ancient cave inhabitants managed through the cold winters. Stepping into our modern snowshoes to keep us from sinking into the thickly layered blankets of freshly fallen fluffy snow, it’s great exercise and fun to be outdoors exploring hidden caves and the magic winter brings to this unique land. While hiking along we conjure up times long past imagining cave dwellers using tree branches to carve out varying concoctions
that would help them traverse the snow-covered landscape.

In every direction surrounding the five traditional villages of Cappadocia; Goreme, Avonos, Urgup, Uchisar and Ortahsar, there seems no end to the possibilities for adventure, as long as we are doing activities that are not harmful to the environment, one of our golden rules. After a full day of exercise and new discoveries under clear blue skies, an evening by the fire with bellies full of traditional Turkish food and a glass of local wine, snuggled in the natural warmth of a cave, you know sleep will come easily with dreams of fairy’s and times
long past.