The Land of the Hittites and Cappadocia
Bronze Age capitals, Anatolian collections, and walks through Cappadocia’s inhabited landscapes. Begin in Ankara, where museum collections introduce the civilizations of central Anatolia, then continue to the Hittite heartlands and the rock-cut settlements of Cappadocia. Archaeology and guided walks work together: objects gain context at their original sites, while churches, valleys, and villages reveal how people adapted to the landscape over centuries.
- Route: Ankara → Alacahöyük → Çorum → Hattusha and Yazılıkaya → Cappadocia → Kayseri or Nevşehir Airport
- Format: Private or escorted group
- Tour Focus: Hittite archaeology, Anatolian history, Byzantine art, valley walks, and regional traditions.
Places You’ll Visit
- Ankara — Archaeological collections, ancient remains, and the institutions of modern Turkey.
- The Hittite heartlands — Fortified settlements, monumental gates, and rock-carved deities.
- Cappadocia — Valleys, underground spaces, and painted churches explored over six nights.
Important Historical and Biblical Context
The Hittite kingdom was a major power in Bronze Age Anatolia. Hattusha and nearby Yazılıkaya reveal its political and religious institutions. Alacahöyük preserves several periods, including rich Early Bronze Age burials that predate the Hittite Empire. Cappadocia’s painted churches belong to a much later Christian world; their surviving decoration should not be confused with the first-century setting of the New Testament.
Why This Route
Ankara’s collections provide a foundation for the Hittite sites, followed by six nights in Cappadocia for a more measured combination of walking, art, and local experiences. The sequence makes changes in chronology and landscape easy to follow.
Who Is This Tour For
Archaeology and art enthusiasts who enjoy walking, study groups, and active cultural travelers seeking more time in Cappadocia than a standard highlights visit provides.
Practical Information
Walking: This is a cultural walking program, with uneven trails, slopes, and steps. Exact distances are agreed for the group; shorter alternatives can be planned.
Access: Underground passages are low and narrow. Sobessos, painted churches, and other smaller sites depend on local access. Hattusha combines walking with vehicle transfers.
Accommodation and travel: Two nights in Ankara, one in Çorum, and six in Cappadocia are planned. Airport transfers use Kayseri or Nevşehir according to the booked flights.
Experiences: Wine tasting, the Dark Church, and a dervish ceremony must be specified in the quotation. Purchasing at any craft stop is optional.
FAQ
Is this a demanding hiking expedition?
No technical trekking is planned, but repeated valley walks require reasonable fitness and suitable footwear.
Can we avoid underground passages?
Yes. Please tell us in advance so an above-ground alternative or waiting arrangement can be planned.
Can non-drinkers join the wine-tasting day?
Yes. Participation is optional and a non-alcoholic alternative can be arranged.
Is a balloon flight included?
No. It can be requested as a separately priced experience, subject to weather and operating approval.
Tour Highlights
Day-by-Day Itinerary
10 DaysArrive in Ankara and transfer to your hotel. Meet your guide for an introduction to the plateau and the different periods represented on the route. The journey begins in the modern capital before looking back to the ancient centers of power across central Anatolia.
Overnight: Ankara
Explore the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, focusing on objects that will help interpret the sites ahead. Continue to the Temple of Augustus area, Ankara Castle, and Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The sequence connects ancient material culture, the layered city, and the formation of the modern republic.
Overnight: Ankara
Leave Ankara for Alacahöyük and explore its monumental remains and archaeological setting. Discuss the rich Bronze Age burials and the later Hittite settlement, keeping their chronologies distinct. A short countryside walk may be arranged on a suitable section of the Hittite Trail, depending on the group and ground conditions. Continue to Çorum.
Overnight: Çorum
Explore selected sectors of Hattusha, using vehicle transfers between the extensive remains and walks around gates, temples, and fortifications. At Yazılıkaya, study the carved processions of deities in the open-air rock sanctuary. The two visits reveal the relationship between royal authority, sacred space, and landscape before the onward drive to Cappadocia.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Enjoy a gentler day after the previous day’s journey. Take time to explore the surroundings of your hotel before visiting Uçhisar for a village walk and panoramic views. A climb within the rock-cut citadel can be included for guests comfortable with steps. The afternoon introduces the geography of the valleys explored over the coming days.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Walk through Red Valley, where erosion has exposed contrasting colors and created sheltered paths between rock formations. Continue to Çavuşin and visit accessible historic areas and a painted church where entry is permitted. Finish with a planned wine tasting, subject to arrangements, to connect the landscape with Cappadocia’s viticultural traditions; a non-alcoholic alternative is available.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Follow a suitable walking section in Gomeda Valley, passing rock-cut spaces and traces of earlier settlement. Visit the excavations at Sobessos if open, then continue to Keşlik Monastery to examine its carved rooms and painted interiors. The day focuses on quieter places that show how settlement, worship, and cultivation shared the same landscape.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Explore Kaymaklı Underground City, where tunnels and storage spaces reveal successive adaptations below ground. Continue to Ihlara for a walk beside the Melendiz River, with selected churches visited according to access and the chosen trail. In the evening, a whirling dervish ceremony at a historic caravanserai may be arranged, subject to scheduling, with an introduction to its spiritual context.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Walk a suitable section of Pigeon Valley, looking at the dovecotes cut into its cliffs and their role in local agricultural life. Visit Göreme Open Air Museum and the Dark Church, where admission and access permit. Your guide will explain selected scenes and the relationship between sacred images, worship, and the communities that created these interiors.
Overnight: Cappadocia
Transfer to Kayseri or Nevşehir Airport for your onward flight. Leave with a connected view of central Anatolia, from the institutions of a Bronze Age empire to the later communities that shaped Cappadocia’s valleys and rock-cut spaces.
Overnight: No overnight included