Goreme - Fairy Chimneys and Cave Hotels
Goreme, a town of troglodytes, cave hotels and fairy chimneys was the first stop on our mini-tour of Turkey. Located in Cappadocia, Central Anatolia, it sits slap bang in the middle of the country and is home to rock-cut churches adorned with ancient Christian frescoes, underground cities and unique volcanic rock formations.
After getting up at ouch o'clock, two flights and a dusty bus drive later, we were more than happy to arrive at our Cappadocia hotel, The Kelebek Special Cave Hotel (kelebek means butterfly in Turkish). We'd booked late but managed to bag three nights in this gorgeous boutique cave hotel; we'd have to change rooms after the first night, but this wasn't a problem; in fact it turned out to be a bonus.
Hassan welcomed us and, as we checked-in, he dropped into the conversation that we'd been upgraded to a fairy chimney for the first night. Result! But wait, the website said the two fairy chimney rooms had shared bathroom facilities - this would be a major problem for Mr Jones. There was no need for concern, though, we'd been upgraded to the Presidential Fairy Chimney suite, the mother of all Fairy Chimneys. With en suite. Excited? Me? You bet!
What is a Fairy Chimney?
You're probably wondering by now what a fairy chimney is, so here goes with the topography. Cappadocia and the area around it is made up of valleys, canyons and large areas of volcanic rock. Over time the soft lava covering, known as tuff, has been eroded by strong winds, weather and flood-waters to create bizarrely shaped peaks known as fairy chimneys.
The chimneys come in various shapes; cone, pointy, capped, pinnacled and in some cases remarkably phallic. The rock is soft, like pumice stone, and has been hollowed out for centuries to form these unusual dwellings.
The door on the right leads to our room, which was originally the wine-press - how appropriate we thought! The Fairy Chimney was much more spacious inside than we'd imagined; it housed a seated fireplace area, balcony, en suite, entrance area and bedroom. I just loved the quirkiness of it all.
There were some lovely decorative touches to the room; locally made Turkish rugs and artefacts, a pair of traditional leather boots hanging on the wall and hand-carved wooden furniture.
We were absolutely delighted with our unexpected stay in a Fairy Chimney - and the reason for our upgrade? The previous occupants didn't like that there was no television in the room...
I can't recommend The Kelebek Special Cave Hotel enough, the hotel itself is totally charming with a lovely restaurant and bar offering stunning views over Goreme town which is about 5 minutes walk away. There are 31 rooms including cave rooms, arch rooms, suites and fairy chimneys and prices vary per night and include breakfast.
There is a small outdoor pool with sunbeds, a quiet garden and Turkish bath with various treatments available. The service at the Kelebek was excellent, food superb and attention to detail second to none. The staff was incredibly helpful recommending which tours would make sure we got the most from our visit. Staying at The Kelebek was one of the highlights of our trip to Turkey and is a Goreme cave hotel that I'd definitely recommend.
Check rates and availability for the Kelebek Special Cave Hotel
There are many types of accommodation available in Goreme from boutique cave hotels, rooms and backpacker hostels; something to suit every budget. The bus station in the centre of town provides extensive transport links to many areas of Turkey and Kayseri airport is just over an hour's drive from the town.
Many accommodations offer a free one-way airport transfer with the purchase of tours and balloon flights. Although Goreme is a small town there is no shortage of restaurants, cafes and bars and we ate some excellent food during our visit. More posts to come covering our stay in Goreme include our dawn balloon flight, exploring Derinkuyu underground city and the perfect Turkish breakfast.
PIN IT...
“My father was a kamikaze balloon pilot,” he teased us again, as we moved steadily closer to a fairy chimney that loomed larger the closer we got. Silence befell as we all caught our breath again, my own knuckles turned white as I tightly gripped the basket’s edge. With seconds to spare, Archie had pulled us up and away from the immense rock, unleashing his trademark raucous giggle as he did.
Wow! Thats really cool. I'd love to stay there.
It was so cool and the town of Goreme was a lovely too. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hi! I’ve nominated you for the Blog of the Year 2012 Award. Here’s the link: http://megtraveling.com/2012/12/19/blog-of-the-year-2012-award-ii/
Thank you Meg - congratulations on your award and I'm delighted to accept mine 🙂
What a fantastic place to stay. I remember reading about the cave hotels years ago and thinking they sounded great, who knew a cave could be so luxurious!
I loved it Lucy - I missed my calling as a Flintstone!
Your fairy chimney looks pretty cool. I await the big foot explantion!
Extraordinary looking place, Suze. No TV? Shock! Horror! Standards are slipping...
I can't believe it was even an issue. The last thing I want to do when I'm away is watch the box!
We stayed at the Kelebek and LOVED it! Our cousins stayed in the room next to you, we stayed in the least expensive room and though very small, we thought it was quite wonderful. The Kelebek staff could not have been more helpful. It was a great way to start our trip to Turkey!
It's just fabulous isn't it - how I'd love to go back there 🙂
I want to stay in the Presidential Fairy Chimney! I'm so going to do that and I think it's cool that made giant asparagus out of the rocks as well. xx
Ha ha I'm liking the giant asparagus - hadn't thought of that one! If you seriously want to plan a trip I'm happy to provide my penny's worth. xx
Thanks. We've booked out summer hols to our French Idyll this week actually so very excited
. Just need to sort a dog sitter now as our usual can't do it. Small disaster!
That is very cheap! Looking fwd to hearing about the origins of BF...
Ah BF - tis a sad tale! Prices start at 55 euros but go up to 160 euros 🙁
That looks wonderful! I'm soooooo jealous. And a dawn balloon ride! Fantastic... More please!
Funnily enough I never got to go there when I was in Turkey but I love your pictures
Thanks Tinks - I hope you get to go back to Turkey, do you miss it?
That place looks wonderful! It's going on my list of must see places.
If you go you won't be disappointed - I loved that place and would definitely return if I got the chance 🙂
Those are just too cool! I could happily live in one even without a TV! I wonder if with all those phallic shapes they have a higher birth rate or if they just get used to it and don't notice them anymore?
Those and lack of TVs probably do have an affect on the population!
(smiling)
Absolutely stunning. I want to go!
I hope you do one day - the photos coming up from our balloon trip really do the scenery justice so do stay tuned...