Middle East - Anthony Ham [501]
Kemerli Evi ( 341 5445; www.kemerliev.com; Dutlu Camii Mahallesi Çıkmaz Sokak 12; s/d €60/80; ) This converted 13th-century house is lost up backstreets inhabited by friendly locals. The eight rooms have antique chairs and carpets, nooks and crannies are everywhere, and an air of calm hangs between the thick stone walls. The elevated terrace has a beautiful swimming pool and panoramic views.
Esbelli Evi ( 341 3395; www.esbelli.com; Esbelli Mahallesi Sokak 8; s/d/ste €80/90/200; ) Consummate host Süha Ersöz opened Cappadocia’s first boutique hotel. Having bought surrounding properties to preserve Esbelli’s atmosphere of hilltop serenity, his complex now has 10 rooms and five suites in nine houses. However, it feels small and intimate, thanks to the welcoming atmosphere and the communal areas where guests are encouraged to congregate.
Melekler Evi ( 341 7131; www.meleklerevi.com.tr; Dereler Mahallesi Dere Sokak 59; d €90-145) This seven-room hotel’s name, House of Angels, could refer to its lofty position at the top of the old town, eye-to-eye with pigeon houses. Restored by an architect and an interior designer, the cave and arch rooms are tastefully decorated in subtle shades.
Eating & Drinking
Micro Café & Restaurant ( 5341 5110; Cumhuriyet Meydanı; mains TL11) It’s not the plaza’s most popular restaurant, but Micro’s diverse menu, ranging across Ottoman chicken, spinach crêpe and peppered T-bone steak, attracts some tourists and locals.
Şömine Cafe & Restaurant ( 341 8442; Cumhuriyet Meydanı; meze TL5, salads TL5-7, mains TL9-15) This popular restaurant on the plaza has a roof terrace and an attractive indoor dining room. Start with a salad or a meze choice such as sosyete mantısı (one large ravioli), then attack a kiremit (clay-baked meat or vegetable dish).
Ziggy’s ( 341 7107; Yunak Mahallesi, Teyfik Fikret Caddesi 24; mains TL13-16, set menu TL30) Cool Ziggy’s, named after a David Bowie song, has a series of terraces. Whether you opt for a cocktail or the 12-course set menu, which features 10 meze plates, such as the distinctive smoked aubergine, hosts Selim and Nuray add some İstanbul sophistication to the Cappadocian views.
Dimrit ( 341 8585; Yunak Mahallesi, Teyfik Fikret Caddesi 40; mains TL10-21) With meze served in curvy dishes and three types of rakı, Dimrit’s hillside terraces are top spots to spend a sunset. The extensive menu features salads, fish, classic grills and house specials.
Ehlikeyf ( 341 6110; Cumhuriyet Meydanı; mains TL12-25) Competing with nearby Şömine in the sophistication stakes, Ehlikeyf occupies a sleek dining room with a wavy ceiling. Dishes such as the fabulous Ehlikeyf kebap (steak served on slivered fried potatoes, garlic yogurt and a demiglace sauce) arrive on glass plates.
The main square is the best place to grab an alcoholic or caffeinated beverage at an outside table and watch Cappadocia cruise by. Pastanes and cafés such as Şükrüoğlu and Café Naturel vie for attention with their sweet eats and shiny window displays. Local institution Han Çirağan Restaurant ( 341 2566; Cumhuriyet Meydanı) has a good terrace for a beer, but we wouldn’t recommend eating here as the service is lacklustre and the food is bog-standard Turkish fare.
Getting There & Away
There are daily long-distance buses to nationwide destinations from Ürgüp’s otogar.
Minibuses travel to Avanos (TL2) via the Göreme Open-Air Museum, Göreme village and (on request) Zelve every two hours.
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MUSTAFAPAşA
0384 / pop 1600
Mustafapaşa is the sleeping beauty of Cappadocia, a peaceful village with pretty old stone-carved houses, some minor rock-cut churches and a few good places to stay. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place to base yourself. Until WWI, it was called Sinasos and was predominantly an Ottoman-Greek settlement.
If you want to bed-down for the evening, Hotel Pacha ( 353 5331; www.pachahotel.com; Sinasos Meydanı; s/d