I know this may seem hard to believe,
but up until very recently, people lived in these caves, for centuries.
And now, this has become one of the most instagrammable
and popular destinations in all of Turkey.
I am Eva zu Beck and this is Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is a tiny region tucked right into the heart of central Turkey.
It has gained global fame thanks to its network of fairy chimneys,
surreal-looking rock formations and genuine cave homes.
People have been carving its soft and undulating rocks
into houses, shelters and defense systems,
since 1000 BC.
Since we already started talking about the cave houses of Cappadocia,
check this out.
This is one of those ruins carved in bare, raw rock.
People would have carved this with their hands centuries ago.
They would have eaten here, hung out here, slept here, prayed here.
Can you imagine all the things
that would have happened here over the centuries?
When you're walking around places like this,
you wanna be looking out for little clues.
This is one such clue.
So, this little kind of handle tells us that there was once a stable here,
where people would come, traders or simply the people who lived in this cave,
and they would attach the rope around their donkey or horse's neck to here,
to keep it from running away.
It's still here, centuries later. This is quite amazing.
There are countless cave homes and fairy chimneys all around Cappadocia.
But at the end of the day,
not that many people live in these anymore.
And after all, this is just dead rock.
But I have got something to show you, where the rock comes alive.
In a different town right here in Cappadocia.
Let's go and check it out.
Pottery is a huge thing here in Cappadocia, you see it absolutely everywhere.
But I think window shopping is not quite enough for this show, is it?
So, I found a pottery workshop, owned by a father and son duo,
where we can go and get our hands a little bit dirty. Shall we? Let's go.
- Hello. Merhaba. - Hello! Merhaba.
- How are you? - I'm good.
- Wow. What are you making? - I'm making polish.
It doesn't even look or feel like stone, or clay.
It's more like metal, or wood.
So, what's the name of your workshop?
Toprağın sesi.
Sound of the earth.
We make musical instruments.
So, it's just you and your father working here together?
Yes.
Mr. Mehmet, what's the story of pottery here in Avanos, in this town?
How did you get started with pottery making?
And when you're working on the clay,
when you're working on making a pot, or an instrument,
how does that make you feel when you're working on it?
And so, do you think I can try making something?
- Yes. - Yeah. I can?
All right, let's do it.
I guess it's my turn to make some art.
Here is a humble ball of clay,
which soon shall become something more than just a lump of clay.
- Just like this. - Just like this?
And after, only right hand. Like this.
- Just touch it. - Just touch.
To feel.
Oh, wow, that feels so smooth.
So, now I have to push my thumbs inside, to make a hole.
- OK. - Very nice.
A bit of water.
- Slightly bigger. OK, the hole is... - More, more.
- More? - Yes.
Oh, my God, look at that. That is just amazing.
I mean, clay is such a beautiful, beautiful material.
I mean, it just feels so smooth and lovely under your fingers,
and it changes shape so easily and so quickly.
Oh, no, it's about to fall.
Wait, brake, brake, brake.
I present to you the bowl that shall go down in history as...
A bowl.
You know, the funniest thing of what you showed me earlier was the end,
which is this.
Voilà and back to the origins.
Well, hopefully, you can make something better out of this.
That was fun.
At the end of our meeting, Oguz wanted to show me something extra special.
His father's workshop specializes in making musical instruments out of clay,
and Oguz invited me to an impromptu private concert
with three different clay instruments, starting with the udu drum.
Next stop, the ghatam.
And last, but not least, the darbuka drum.
Amazing!
Here is the thing about Cappadocia.
Because it's such a popular spot,
you'll never gonna go hungry here, there's so many restaurants.
And Turkish food, of course, is delicious.
But there is one spot that really stands out from the rest
and I wanna show it to you. So, let's go. Follow me.
Check this out. The kitchen is basically inside the restaurant, it's like a home,
where you've got the kitchen in the dining room, kind of together.
And the ladies here are super busy at lunchtime making delicious,
homemade, village style food.
The kitchen is crazy busy. It's lunchtime, no wonder.
But there is apparently one secret spot in this restaurant,
the terrace.
This is true, local, authentic food. You can see it from right here.
The ladies in here are busy making "mantı", which are traditional Turkish dumplings.
And honestly, I just cannot wait to taste it.
Seems like I'm getting a personal lesson in Turkish cooking.
Thank you very much, a lot of pressure. These ladies here are professionals.
I feel like if I do something wrong, I could suffer the consequences.
Like this?
- One side and then the other. - Yes.
OK. Got it.
It's ok?
It kind of feels like being in grandma's kitchen at Christmas.
There's people running around.
Everything is homemade, everything is made by hand.
So, I've ordered up a feast.
Right here we've got "sarma", which are stuffed grapevine leaves.
Veggie, covered with sour cream and sauce on top.
You see this kind of dish everywhere in the Mediterranean.
Just so aromatic.
It really feels like the leaf has just been picked from a field
not so long ago.
We've got a beautiful plate of mantı, which is a kind of Turkish pasta.
And again, it's just smothered with beautiful fresh sauce.
- This is... - Very good.
Very good! Very "tamam".
The ultimate feel-good dish with garlic, super fresh pasta.
And here a plate of "Peravu", which the girls told me is basically
kind of like Italian style ravioli with cheese, and herbs, and tomatoes.
The food here is awesome,
but this spot is a lot more than just a restaurant.
Run by local women as a cooperative business,
it creates a sustainable income for all the ladies who work here,
bringing 100 percent of the profits back into the community.
Let's have a quick chat with Hatice, one of the co-owners.
Hatice, thank you so much for your warm welcome
here in this amazing restaurant.
Can you tell me a little bit more about your food,
and how the restaurant got started. The background, the story.
All right, I'm switching to my action camera for a little while
because we've got some action coming up.
I've come out here to the Akhal Teke horse riding center,
to do a bit of horse riding. That dreamy, dreamy horse riding here in Cappadocia.
This is something I've been wanting to do for such a long time.
Just one pro travel tip for you.
If you wanna come horse riding here in Cappadocia,
make sure that you go to a reputable, trustworthy riding center.
Don't just pick up a camel or a horse by the side of the road.
You wanna make sure that the animals are treated well.
Right, let's go for a ride. Shall we?
One last touch.
Ready to go.
In Persian, the word Cappadocia actually means "the land of the beautiful horses".
And unsurprisingly, horses have been a significant part
of the local history for centuries.
Legend has it that Cappadocian horses
even appeared on battlefields alongside Alexander the Great.
All right, after that boost of adrenaline,
it's time to head back to Göreme and unwind for the evening.
Check out this view, it's just so beautiful.
You can see all of Göreme from this viewpoint.
With its twinkling lights and all of its cave houses,
this is just stunning.
I think I'm gonna sit down and have a glass of Cappadocian wine.
There's a reason why Cappadocia is so popular.
I mean if you look at the food, the wine, the culture, the history, the nature.
It's kind of got it all. So, I am not really surprised.
You know what? I don't think it's really that overrated.
I'm not complaining.
So, I'm just gonna sit here and enjoy the view,
and I'll see you guys on the next episode, right here, on DW Travel.
Cheers.