Nevsehir, Goreme and Kaymakli (Cappadocia, Turkey)

Lonelyplanet advises on the 'annoyance and dangers' a tourist might face at Nevsehir Otobus Gar. It is true that the first time we arrived there we were greeted by a bunch of tours agent and we decline their offers, being mindful of lonelyplanet's advice.

However, upon our return we had a chat with someone working at a tour agent in the Nevsehir terminal, who said that his company offers a one day tour (from 10 am to 5 pm) for 60 lira, with 7 point attraction, museum tickets, guides and lunch included. We can't confirm if this is true, but if it is, it is indeed a very good price, because if you have to go on your own, you will spend at least 15 lira for a museum (so that's 30 lira if you visit two), 20 liras for the guide, at least 10 lira for lunch, including otobus fares (around 2 to 3 liras). Check www.rocktowntravel.com

If you decide to go on your own (which we did) from the Nevsehir Otobus Gar, you can take a free ride to the town centre of Nevsehir. Nevsehir appears to be the hub of Cappadocia ('Kappadokya') which connects it to the neighboring village. There is a minibus that will take you to the town centre for free. Just tell the driver you are going to Goreme and he will drop you off at the right bus stop.

The minibus to Goreme costs 2 liras per person. It will take you to the Goreme bus station. If you are going to the open air museum, get out from the station and follow the path upward, until you see a bridge and then turn right. You will see plenty of cafes, motorcycle rent and air balloon hires along the way. Turn right and go uphil until you find sign of entrance to the open air museum. The ticket cost is 15 liras per person.

From there, we went to the underground city at Kaymakli. You have to go to Nevsehir to catch a van to go there. On the way to Nevsehir you will pass Uchisar, which according to some reviews worth a visit, but unfortunately we do not stop there. Just ask the bus driver to drop you off at the van bus stop that goes to Kaymakli. The trip there takes around 30 minutes, don't forget to ask the driver to drop you off at the underground city. There are 3 underground city but the one in Kaymakli is the one adviced. It is worth hiring a tourguide there (we paid 20 liras) because the labyrinth is quite complicated and there is no audiotour.

Back to Nevsehir, I found a good restaurant that only charge 10 lira for a complete Adana Kebab (large portion, with the salad). The place is Kebabci Mustafa at Aksaray Cd, they seemed to have 2 branches at Nevsehir. This is quite a good deal and one of the value for money food I have found so far. You can go to donner shop for 8 liras which is cheaper, but the portion is small.

One last tip: if you go to a restaurant without price menu on display, ask for the price first and ask what the menu looklike. Once we ordered for a shish kebab, but were given a small cut pieces of fried meat which they called 'Shish Kebab'.

Below is the pic for Kebabci Mustafa's address, the typical van used for transport from Nevsehir to Kaymakli and the tariff for such transport.

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