You Won’t Want To Miss One Sunrise at Taskonaklar, Cappadocia

During our trip to Turkey, we had the pleasure of staying at the fabulous Taskonaklar Hotel for 3 nights, nestled in Ucister, the highest point in the region of Cappadocia.

Each room is uniquely designed to provide an authentic cave atmosphere, whilst still maintaining the high standards you would expect from a luxury boutique hotel. Our room featured a master bedroom and separate bedroom for the kids, lounge room and ensuite.

The room’s balcony overlooked the spectacularly scenic valley below – perfect for kicking back and reading a book in the morning, while watching the hot air balloons gracefully glide by. A view that I believe rivaled our actual view from our hot air balloon ride.

The hotel manager was really helpful in recommending some local restaurants and activities for the kids.

Breakfast was provided at the hotel restaurant each morning, which included cereal, toast, jams, pressed meats, eggs, local pastries, juice and coffee. The jams were all home made and tasted exceptional. I just couldn’t get enough of the fresh white bread generously slathered with strawberry jam. Just writing about it makes my mouth water again. Who would of thought Turkey would be remembered for its jam?

We booked a dinner at the hotel restaurant one evening after seeing the beautiful decorated tables and I am so glad we did, it was simply amazing. The tables were set outside, under the stars, overlooking the panoramic valley below. The local cuisine was freshly prepared and bursting with flavor. The kids’ favourite part was the main course, a special lamb casserole, sitting in a dish drizzled with a flammable liquid that was ignited to create a mesmerizing blue flame. It also kept the food toasty warm.

The hotel was trying out a new activity – an interactive pottery demonstration – one afternoon. A local artisan brought in a spinning wheel and showed with remarkable skill how to convert a lump of clay into a beautiful vase. Next Mia put her hand to the wheel to create a cute little ceramic dish. That was only her 2^nd time trying pottery and really impressed us all. Following that, Erin tried it out only to find that it’s easier said than done. Still, her little pot was a cute first attempt. Mia was proud to have outshone her mum. 

The hotel is centrally located in Ucister, just a short walk from restaurants, shops and the iconic Kalisi (Castle). This can be seen from almost any point in the Cappadocia region. We set out early one morning on a mission to reach the top. Walking through the winding, narrow lanes we soaked up the atmosphere and warm glowing sunshine.

The walk was pretty tough for toddlers, so I carried Caius on our Manduca baby carrier and Mia powered through on foot – what a little trooper! Entry to the Castle was 5TL ($2.50 each). The winding stairs were pretty tiring to climb as the sun grew hotter, but we persevered.  And the view was worth it. I’m sure you’ll agree:

It certainly is not what I imagined a castle to be when first told of it, but it turned out to be just as beautiful and amazing as any castle seen previously.

One afternoon we managed to catch up with Duke of Captivating Cappadocia. He and his clan have been living in Cappadocia for a while and he was really helpful with some wonderful tips on things to do in the area.

We found the Taskonaklar Hotel to be an ideal base to explore Ucister and Goreme for a couple days. The location was superb to take advantage of the unique panorama that occurred each morning at sunrise – dozens and dozens of hot air balloons silently floating in the clear sky. That is truly classic Cappadocia.