Sleep In Ancient Caves In Türkiye’s Otherworldly Cappadocia Region

At five o’clock in the morning, a pale golden light is washing over an otherworldly landscape of conical rock formations and undulating cliffsides. The sky is specked with colorful hot air balloons at varying heights. In the early morning silence, the only sounds are the occasional gentle woosh as the balloons fire and dogs barking far off in the valley.

This is the view of Türkiye’s magical Cappadocia from Argos in Cappadocia, a luxury cave hotel named by National Geographic as one of the 250 must-see places in the world. The rooms and amenities are scattered throughout a small village crowned by Uçhisar castle, the highest point in the region of rock towers and stone mounds.

The area has seen a surge in tourism over the past couple of decades, often overwhelming the tiny Nevşehir Kapadokya airport. Although the abstract landscape is now synonymous with the daily Instagram-friendly hot air balloon spectacle, some hotels and tourism organizations are keen to promote its more ‘authentic’ attractions.

Where to stay in Cappadocia

At Argos in Cappadocia, ‘authentic’ means sleeping, eating and relaxing inside rock-hewn caves and historic dwellings. Each room is unique: some are a warren of low grottoes; some have a cozy cave on the lower floor and a bedroom built above; and some are constructed in traditional style clinging to the cliff edge overlooking the valley.

The rooms have open stone fireplaces – just buzz reception and they’ll send someone to light a fire – and beige and soft-hued furnishing that blend seamlessly with the pale rock walls.

The hotel’s amenities are likewise hidden throughout the village inside the cliff face or protruding from the steep rocky landscape. There’s a meeting room inside a vast grotto with glass panels on the floor revealing amphorae that were dug up during excavations. The new Nahita restaurant is located inside a dining room with chiseled rock walls.

One of the hotel’s crowning features is the ancient chapel, built inside a cave, where guests can have private dinners or events. Hollowed-out rock meets arched stone walls with decorative circular openings where the light streams in. Around the walls, niches carved out from the rock hold tall candles and sprigs of dried herbs. For total privacy, the hotel will close the sturdy wooden doors so you can eat in semi-darkness by flickering candlelight.

Argos in Cappadocia is also responsible for the upkeep of some of the region's iconic “fairy chimneys.” At the edge of the village, you can walk into one of the tall conical rock formations honeycombed with caves hollowed out centuries ago.

What to eat in Cappadocia

At the hotel's Seki and recently opened Nahita restaurants, the menus are a celebration of hyper-local food from the Nevşehir province. In the latter, start with a shepherd’s salad combining tomato, cucumber and red onion with tangy Çömlek cheese. Also known as “pot cheese,” it is aged naturally in earthenware pots inside caves.

For a main, try homemade yağlama (soft thin tortillas) smothered in flavorful minced meat made in the Nevşehir fashion and freshened with mint and yogurt. The restaurant also uses the ancient tandoor method to prepare meat. This sees lamb or beef cooked inside pots over wood fires.

At Seki, you can try the warming Nevşehir mantı, which are like mini ravioli filled with meat topped with a tomato and chickpea sauce.

Argos in Cappadocia is also home to one of the oldest natural wine cellars in the world housed inside a deep underground cave system. Bottles are crammed into niches and crevices in the rockface and in one room there is a pit in the ground where the grapes would once have been crushed.

What to visit in Cappadocia

The hotel makes a point of not promoting the hot air balloon rides, which can seem a bit of a gimmick. Instead, they organize excursions with local guides to explore the region's remarkable rocky attractions.

In the Monk's Valley, you wander between some of the most bizarre-looking rock forms. The narrow columns with wider conical peaks – which have been compared to monks in hooded habits – were formed by ancient volcanic eruptions and subsequent centuries of erosion.

A must-visit is the Göreme open-air museum, crammed with fairy chimneys that have been excavated by generations past into labyrinthine houses, monasteries and churches. Ducking under low doorways, you step into a world of richly colored biblical scenes painted all over the rough walls and ceilings.