The morning tour of Istanbul is a good introduction to some of the main sights such as the Blue Mosque.  Left to our own devices in the afternoon we visited the Sunken Basillica,  went for a quick Bosphorus boat tour & took a stroll through Gulhane Park to the tea garden. 

The overnight train to Konya was comfortable and smooth enough to get a good nights sleep!  There is a restaurant car that serves basic but decent meals. The walking in Cappadoccia was mildly challenging; neither easy or difficult.  Our Turkish tour leader Firat added the word "undulating" to his already excellent knowledge of English! 

The balloon ride was excellent and the Whirling Dervish ceremony was very interesting. All hotels on the trip we of a good standard and conveniently located. (GV -28th May 2011)

This remains one of my favourite weeks. Every step taken reveals new shapes of the extraordinarily eroded landscape containing troglodyte  churches and  dwellings for people  or pigeons. A particularly sunny and warm last week of October meant that autumnal colours were at their most intense and contrasted highly with the pallid tufa tones. The hike is well paced and included some scrambling at times either up to churches or clambering down very dry and thus loose and slippery areas trails. Food was a highlight: apart  from just one picnic, lunch (and dinner)were taken at a variety of very original eateries including a riverside restaurant with a floating raft for each table in Ilhara, the aptly named Flintstones,  Firin claypot and a vegetarian   "Memories"below Uchisar Castle The options of a Whirling Dervish sema in a beautifully restored Karavanserai, a visit to a hamam and the spectacular hot air balloon flight made it even more memorable. This is a hike I would do again-in spring. or snow covered in winter.(GV - 20th October 2007)

I really enjoyed this trip very much indeed, particularly the walking in Cappadocia. I am also glad that I got a chance to see a bit of Istanbul. It was fun to do the overnight train trip to Konya and I was very impressed by the railway station on the Asian side of Istanbul from which our train departed. I was really impressed with the rock formations in Cappadocia. I must also take isse with the previous reviewer who described the walks as 'samey'. I completely disagree. I felt that the scenery on the different days of walking was remarkably different. I also don't agree with the suggestion that it was too easy. I found some parts quite challenging and more demanding than other A/B graded walks which I have done on other trips. Another highlight was the hot air balloon ride from which I took lots of superb photos. The only downside of the trip was perhaps the cave hotel where we stayed in Goreme. It had a severe dampness/humidity problem and also the shower in my ground floor room did not work well at all due to a water pressure problem. However i imagine that this problem has been resolved by now. It was a newly opened hotel at the time. I highly recommend the trip. Make sure that you have plenty of memory on your camera for photos! (GV - 1st May 2009)

The mix on this trip was fantastic. Not being city person a small taster of Istanbul at the beginning suited me perfectly before the comfortable train journey out to Konya. The scenery was breathtaking and very different to previous trips on the coast. We were so lucky - the first night in Goreme it snowed! This made the walking a bit more challenging but also a lot of fun. Thermals and waterproofs are probably a good idea in winter... then you can just relax and enjoy the views! (GV - 26th December 2009)

Cappadoccia is a fascinating region with some very unusual landscapes. The walking on this trip is extremely easy - those of us who were more seasoned walkers did find it a bit dull at times. The scenary also gets a bit 'samey' after a few days. The day in Istanbul was great - I'd have liked longer as there's a lot to see, but you can tick off the major sights in day and make notes of what to see in more detail when you return.  I also really enjoyed the overnight train ride to Konya. This is a gently paced trip and would be ideal for those who are new to walking or not confident of their fitness. The balloon ride gives wonderful views and is a must for anyone who likes photography - but make sure you wear lots of layers as it's very cold up there!  It was really windy on my trip so some sort of scarf to protect the face from all the dust is highly recommended. Also some of the hotel rooms were quite cold so take a few warm things for that. (GV- 1st March 2008)