"The Soganli Valleys - Get Away from the Crowds" Soganli by mikelisaanna

Soganli Travel Guide: 7 reviews and 15 photos

The Soganli section of Cappadocia is one of the region's best-kept secrets. The two Soganli valleys (Upper Soganli and Lower Soganli) are located about 50 km south of Urgup and are visited by only a small fraction of the tourists that visit the better known areas of Cappadocia such as Goreme, Uchisar, Derinkuyu, and Urgup. However, if you make the effort to reach the Soganli valleys, you will be rewarded for your efforts. The valleys contain a number of abandoned cave churches and monasteries that you can explore on your own with no crowds to bother you. We explored the Upper Soganli Valley, which had five five cave churches that are open to the public, three of which are accessible from the road and two of which you reach via a short hike (about 1/2 km). The whole time were were there, we only saw about 10 people in total, and most of the time, we had the places to ourselves.

In between the two valleys is the small town of Soganli, which has a couple of places to eat and small shops that sell souvenirs, including the region's famous hand-made dolls. To access the valleys, you have to pay a small fee, which I think was around YTL 5 (about $4).

Pros and Cons

Pros:Cave churches and rugged scenery with no crowds
Cons:Vandalism to some of the church frescoes
In a nutshell:Cappadocia's best-kept secret

Last visit to Soganli: Aug 2008
Intro Written Dec 8, 2008
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Reviews (7)

Dovecotes in the Upper Soganli Valley - Soganli

Dovecotes Local Customs (1)

Throughout the Soganli Valley, you will see complexes of small holes outlined with white along the mountainsides. These... more travel advice

The Domed Church in the Upper Soganli Valley - Soganli

The Domed Church and the Hidden Church Things to Do (4)

The Domed Church and the Hidden Church are two small churches that you reach via a short 1/2 km hike through a local... more travel advice

One of the church's surviving frescoes - Soganli

Yilanli Kilise - The Church of St.... Things to Do (4)

Yilanli Kilise, the Church of St. George (also called the Church of the Snake) is located at the end of the Upper... more travel advice

The nave of the Karabas Kilise church - Soganli

Karabas Kilise (Black Head Church) Things to Do (4)

The Karabas Kilise is the first church that you reach after entering the Upper Soganli Valley. We assume that it got its... more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (1)
Lack of services in the Soganli valleys

Shopping (1)
Soganli Dolls

Comments (2)

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nicolaitan Dec 22, 2008 at 1:07 PM

great page - we loved soganli, bought a few dolls maybe from the same old lady, loved the rock cut churches. BUT - there was one restaurant in town and we ate there - our best meal in turkey believe it or not.
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lynnehamman Dec 9, 2008 at 10:24 PM

Amazing that those frescos are in such good condition! The caves also look so mysterious-secretive monks?Good tips