Middle East - Anthony Ham [499]
Eating
Most of Göreme’s pensions provide good, cheap meals but you could also take advantage of some fine eateries in town.
Cappadocia Kebap Center ( 271 2682; Müze Caddesi; mains TL3.50) This tiny, friendly joint is a great place for a fast feed. You can enjoy a chicken döner kebap sandwich or a spicy acılı kebap sandwich, accompanied by freshly squeezed orange juice (TL3).
Nazar Börek ( 271 2441; Müze Caddesi; mains TL5) If you’re after a cheap and filling meal, sample the börek, gözleme and sosyete böregi (stuffed spiral pastries with yogurt and tomato sauce) served at this simple place. Friendly staff and a pleasant outdoor eating area on the canal make it a perennially popular option.
Fırın Express ( 271 2266; Eski Belediye Yanı Sokak; pide & pizza TL4-8, mains TL8-13; 11am-11pm) Set slightly back from the main strip, this wood cabin–like eatery is praised by carnivores and vegetarians for its pide and pizza. More substantial claypot dishes are also available.
Cappadocia Pide Salonu ( 271 2858; Hakki Paşa Meydanı; pide TL5-9) Göreme’s pide hotspot has a more local feel than most of the village’s eateries. Sitting under the canalside umbrellas, you can tuck into 12 types of pide, as well as spaghetti, grills, pottery kebaps, beer and rakı.
Point Café (Müze Caddesi; mains TL10) Missing your favourite comfort foods? A Turkish–South African couple dishes up curries, burgers, fruit smoothies, filter coffee and homebaked cakes.
Dibek ( 271 2209; Hakkı Paşa Meydanı 1; mains TL10-15; 9am-11pm) Dibek is one of Göreme’s most original restaurants, and the best place to try a testi kebap (kebap cooked in a terracotta pot, broken at the table to serve). You must give three hours’ notice before eating, so the dish can be slow-cooked in an oven in the stone floor.
Local Restaurant ( 271 2629; Müze Caddesi 38; mains TL11) At the start of the road to the Göreme Open-Air Museum, the Local is one of Göreme’s best eateries, with an outdoor terrace and an elegant, stone-walled dining room. The service is attentive, ingredients are fresh, and prices are reasonable for the scrumptious dishes.
Manzara Restaurant ( 271 2712; Harim Sokak 14; mains TL12) With its bird’s-eye view of Göreme’s flat roofs and less-flat rock formations, Manzara is a prime spot to spend a meze-and-rakı evening. Choose between two terraces and an indoor dining room with a fireplace.
Getting There & Away
There are daily long-distance buses to all sorts of places from Göreme otogar; you may have to transfer in Nevşehir.
Minibuses travel from Ürgüp to Avanos (TL2) via Ortahisar, Göreme Open-Air Museum, Göreme village, Çavuşin and (on request) Paşabağı and Zelve every two hours. There’s also an hourly municipal bus running from Avanos to Nevşehir (TL3) via Çavuşin, Göreme and Uçhisar.
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UÇHİSAR
0384 / pop 6350
Between Göreme and Nevşehir is picturesque, laid-back yet stylish Uçhisar, built around a rock citadel (admission TL3; 8am-8.15pm) that offers panoramic views from its summit. There are some excellent places to stay; the following, all located on the same street, are brilliant value and have formidable views of Pigeon Valley, Rose Valley and the rest of the rocky gang.
Uçhisar Pension ( 219 2662; www.uchisarpension.com; Kale Yani 5; s/d TL30/60)
La Maison du Réve ( 219 2199; www.lamaisondureve.com; Tekelli Mahallesi 32; s/d/tr €20/30/40; )
Les Terrasses d’Uçhisar ( 219 2792; www.terrassespension.com; Eski Göreme Yolu; s/d/tr/ste €38/38/46/80; )
A half-hourly municipal bus runs from Avanos to Nevşehir via Göreme and Uçhisar (TL1.50 to TL2.50). Services also link the village with Ortahisar and Ürgüp.
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ZELVE VALLEY
Make sure to visit the excellent Zelve Open-Air Museum (admission TL5, parking TL2; 8am-5pm, last admission 4.15pm), off the road from Göreme to Avanos. It is less visited than the Göreme Valley (though the monastic