The first stop of the day is Mustafapasa. It is a small village in the central Cappadocia region that is steeped in Greek Orthodox history. We’ll wander around the village and see old mansions dating back to the 19th and 20th centuries, spotting the incredible Greek influence on the architecture.

After a stroll around the charming Mustafapasa, we’ll head to a local artisan shop where we’ll participate in an Ebru workshop. Ebru is the traditional Turkish art of creating colorful patterns by sprinkling and brushing color pigments onto a pan of oily water and then transferring the patterns to paper. The first forms of this unique marbling art design were first thought to be used in the 15th century!

We’ll learn the art of Ebru from an artist before heading to lunch at a local restaurant to try a traditional pottery kebab dish.

After devouring the delicious meal, we’ll make our way to Chez Galip where we’ll have a pottery demonstration. We’ll observe and learn about the creative process that goes into the art of ceramic-making and watch the highly-trained artisans doing their craft.

Our next stop is St. Jean Church. This historic rock-carved structure is one of the oldest, largest, and most prestigious churches in the area. We’ll marvel at the beautifully restored colorful religious frescoes before heading to our last stop of the day, the Open Palace.

Açık Saray (Open Palace) is a unique cave-village carved out of rock and developed around 1000 AD. The open Byzantine settlement features nine prominent courtyard complexes and fifteen cave churches, all carved into the volcanic landscape. We’ll explore the rocky and cavernous terrain before heading back to your accommodations.