Soganli site and Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
182 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 23
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Derinkuyu it runs 182 km to Derinkuyu; allow about 3 h 23 of riding. The stops in between: Yesilöz site, Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of and back through Yesilöz site. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,500 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
Turkey Cappadocia Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Turkey Cappadocia Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
28 km
Named road
Turkey Cappadocia Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Soganli site
Soğanlı lies in a side valley of Cappadocia that most tour buses skip, south-east of Ürgüp and Yeşilhisar, on the slopes of the volcanic uplands. The name means with onions, which tells you something about the humble character of the place. The valley sides are made of soft volcanic tuff, which the local Christians carved out in the Byzantine centuries into churches, chapels, monasteries, and houses. Many of the rock churches date from the ninth to the thirteenth century and keep fragments of frescoes: Karabaş, the Yılanlı or Snake church, the Barbara church and others, whose names reflect old stories more than documented history.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Soganli site is where the day begins. Next is Yesilöz site.
2. Yesilöz site
Cappadocia was made by volcanoes and carved by people. Millions of years ago, the volcanoes of central Anatolia, Erciyes and Hasan, covered the plateau in thick layers of ash that hardened into a soft rock called tuff, and wind and water have since eroded it into the cones, pinnacles and ridges that are known as fairy chimneys. People found the rock easy to carve, and for thousands of years they have dug homes, churches, storerooms and whole underground cities into it. The area is a World Heritage site, and it is hard to find a corner without a cave or a dovecote cut into a cliff.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yesilöz site comes up about 63 km into the recorded legs. Next is Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of.
3. Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of
Millions of years ago, two volcanoes, Erciyes and Hasan, covered central Turkey with ash, and the ash hardened into a soft, pale rock called tuff. Then rain and frost and wind went to work for a very long time. They carved the tuff into a landscape of cones, spires, mushrooms and canyons, the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, in soft shades of cream, pink and apricot. About a thousand metres above sea level, around Goreme, the whole valley seems to have been sculpted by a mad pastry chef.