What you need to know about the Blue Tour:

• It is super quaint and tranquil
• It takes about 8 hours
• It gives you a chance to visit behind-the-stage of Cappadocia
• If you want a truly authentic experience, this one is for you

We start the Blue Tour at about 9:30am, just like all the other ones. But we head in a completely different direction, away from the crowds, and arrive at the old Greek town of Mustafapasa (Sinasos). And I could talk about this one for hours. It’s history is as rich as it is tragic. Until the 1923 Population Exchange, the town of Sinasos used to be an abode of affluent Greek merchants and their families. They would make their fortunes through trade in Istanbul and then they would come to Cappadocia and stay here during the summer.

The off-white and blue mansions they build here stand out for their elegance and understated decorations. You can still see beautiful frescoes with Greek inscriptions on the walls of these mansions. There is also an amazing cultural heritage in the form of a monastery, rock churches and even a cathedral devoted to Helena and Constantine.

Another great thing about Mustafapasa is that it has its own family-run ethnographic museum! It is of modest size and family-run but that’s exactly what makes visiting it a great experience. It is situated in an actual old Greek mansion and separated into two parts: underground, which is dedicated to ethnographic history of Cappadocia, and above ground, which is dedicated to dolls representing Turkish historical costumes.

After leaving Mustafapasa, we keep moving north until we reach the Keslik Monastery, which is a rather sprawling complex, surrounded by greenery. It includes a chapel, a refectory for the monks and their living quarters, and of course a shelter, which could be sealed off with a giant millstone in case of attacks. The times were tough.

Our next destination is the village of Sahinefendi, which used to be called Sobessos and at some point housed a small Roman garrison. The excavations uncovered a meeting area and a bath house, both with wonderful floor mosaics. Among the remains of the bath house you can also see the parts of hypocaust, an ancient central heating system, which is amazing.

After that, we head to Soganli village, which is a bit off the beaten path, but as authentic as they come. There are several rock-carved churches there, such as Karabas Kilise (“black head” church), Tahtali Kilise (“wooden panel” church), Kubbeli Kilise (“domed” church) and of course Yilanli Kilise (see, there is always one with the “snake”, thanks to St. George). Also, this village is the home of the traditional Soganli dolls crafted by the local ladies.

The tour ends with the underground city of Kaymakli, the first caves of which were carved by the Phrygians in 8-7 centuries BC and later expanded by the residents to provide shelter against the onslaught of various enemies – there was always someone, trying to conquer Cappadocia because of its strategic location. There is evidence that the tunnels and channels of Kaymakli were used for refuge by local Christians as late as 1911, when they went hiding there after hearing about the attacks on Christians that happened in Adana (300 km to the south). Following the Population Exchange though, the underground structures were only used as storage space.