Goreme Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, Turkey - Ancient Churches

17/11/2016 Goreme
Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, Turkey : Ancient Churches
ISTANBUL CAPPADOCIA AEGEAN MEDITERRANEAN BLACK SEA
SOUTH EAST OF TURKEY
5 Years Later : The Goreme Open Air

Museum
I 韼�rst visited the Goreme Open Air Museum of Cappadocia in 2010 and my write-up was neither kind nor full
of praise. I accused the guidebook of incorrect information and my exact words to describe the historical
UNESCO World Heritage site were…
“Goreme Open Air Museum is 13 cave churches that all look the same. Throw in the Cappadocia tour guide
that screams at you, the overpriced entrance fee, the vile coffee, the mile-long toilet queue, seven coaches
of sel韼�sh tourists and it will certainly be a day that you will remember for the rest of your life.”
http://turkishtravelblog.com/goremeopenairmuseum/ 1/25
17/11/2016 Goreme Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, Turkey : Ancient Churches
While writing that article, I did question whether I’d simply picked a bad day to visit because it seemed one
thing after the other went wrong. For that reason, it was constantly on my mind that perhaps I should give it
another chance and in June of this year, I did.
Arriving at the Goreme Open Air Museum
I couldn’t believe it because as soon as we walked through the gates, bad luck once again descended on
me. It started raining heavily but I didn’t have an umbrella. Then, the memory card on my camera ran out of
space because I had already spent four days exploring other areas of Cappadocia but I didn’t want to delete
any of those photos. At this point, I was positively sure that I must be Satan reincarnated.
Remember, Goreme Open Air museum contains some of the earliest churches in history. This area was one
of the 韼�rst to embrace Christianity and the Cappadocia fathers can take a huge amount of credit for
spreading the word throughout the rest of the world. However it seemed that each time, I attempted to visit
this holy place, bad things started happening to me. Pardon me for feeling persecuted!
That is when my tour guide came to the rescue. He lent me his umbrella and ran back to the souvenir shop
to buy me a new SD card. Some would say he was an enthusiastic guide easy to please, while others would
say the look on my face and profanity coming out of my mouth suggested I was about to have a hysterical
韼�t in public.
Anyway, the lighthearted attitude of the guide made me think that perhaps I was being a little dramatic so
braving the showers, we made our way from church to church.
On this occasion, I didn’t let the large amount of inconsiderate and aimlessly wandering tourists ruin my
mood. Instead I waited patiently for my turn to view the interior frescoes of each church some of which
date from the 3rd and 4th century BC.
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I was extremely disappointed that you are still not allowed to take videos or photos of the interior frescoes
even though most modern cameras can avoid use of a 韼�ash that over time, damages the frescoes. The
entrance fee has now risen from 15 lira to 25 lira and I paid another 10 lira to see another church within the
grounds. Hey, this is in韼�ation and sites like this need maintaining so it is worth paying.
There is still only one ladies toilet, despite the hundreds of people who visit it every day and the coffee
served by the onsite restaurant, is still overpriced but the taste has massively improved. Which leads me to
wonder if perhaps I was harsh in my 韼�rst write-up of the site?
Goreme Open Air Museum is and always will be a massive tourist trap subjected to the pitfalls of huge
queues, overpricing, stupid tourists who don’t look where they are going and tour guides with an overin韼�ated
ego (apart from my guide, he was cool.) However, the historical importance of the cave churches and the
restoration work of the interior frescoes beat all of those hands down.
I’m ashamed that on my 韼�rst visit, I didn’t appreciate this fact. I am kicking myself for not using a tour guide
then because maybe I would have fully comprehended that this area was a fully functioning community of
monks and Christian believers who were persecuted for their beliefs.
So readers, please ignore everything I wrote previously about the Goreme Open Air Museum. It rightly so,
should be the 韼�rst place that you visit in Cappadocia. Use a tour guide if you are interested in historical
knowledge and facts. Also visit early in the morning or last thing at night to beat the queues. Just please, I
repeat please, do not play Ottoman dress-up in the souvenir shop, no matter how much they beg you to do
it. That really is just tacky tourism.
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About Latest Posts
Natalie Contact me..
Hi. My name is Natalie Sayin and this blog is a collection of personal articles
about my travels in Turkey as well as my thoughts on culture, traditions and the Turkish way of life Read
my story here or keep up to date with posts by joining me on Facebook.
Filed Under: Cappadocia, History
Comments
Nomad says
at
Hilarious. I remember reading a guidebook description of Kusadasi (or was it Bodrum?) in which
the town was described as a sleepy 韼�shing village. And that book was that old. Can you imagine?
Reply
YellowFlower says
at
Hi Natalie,
I remember visiting there in 2005. It was enjoyable but I think the main reason is there was no
tourist traf韼�c. Our small group plus guide were the only ones there, so maybe, it may have been
the snowball effect / Sod’s Law?

Great pix!
Reply
Natalie says
at
@nomad. That book must de韼�nitely have been old.
@yellow韼�ower. It seems you went at the right time then. I obviously picked the worst time.
Thanks for stopping by Nomad and Yellow Flower.
Reply
Kim says
at
We loved Goreme, but did not go to the open air museum. We just never got around to it. I’ve
experienced all of the frustrations that you listed at other big tourism areas. It really does ruin your
visit. I hate big, sel韼�sh tour groups and their screaming guides!
Reply
Natalie says
at
Hi Kim, I would have to say that the open air museum was the only part of Goreme that I did not
like. Other then that I managed to avoid the big tour groups and their guides.
Reply

Karen says
at
I had a fantastic time in Goreme open air museum but I was with someone who was really
interested and we avoided the guides and it was a quiet day and we had it pretty much to
ourselves.
The Hittite underground cities are another story altogether…horrible, hot, claustrophobic and an
hour trapped miles underground, bent double and way to close to an American’s bum. And the
guide..oh dear…his sole contribution was to point at every hole in the rock and announce “and
here they made pee pee” Insightful much!
Other than that…Cappadocia…amazing!
Reply
Aaron says
at
When we 韼�nally do make it out that way, we will go in January – in the rain and cold – and have
the caves to ourselves . . . I hope.
Reply
Natalie says
at
Hi Karen, Good to see you again. I loved the underground cities. Thankfully I was following my
husband though, so his was the only bum I was looking at.
Aaron. I look forward to seeing the write up on your blog and pictures of you wrapped up in
jumpers with a great big umbrella!
Reply
turkey's for life says

at
Oh dear! We actually really liked the open air museum, although I seem to remember it was
much smaller than our guidebook made it out to be. It included a map of how to get round – err,
not necessary.
Reply
Natalie says
at
Lol TFl’s. You don’t need a map to get round there. At least the guidebook included a lot of detail
though.
Reply
Sarah Wu says
at
Hey Natalie,I never been to Goreme open air museum so I can’t comment too much on that
attraction. But from your pictures they looked beautiful. Sometime the guide book can be
misleading but like you say. You went and you done it. Your husband sound like my 韼�ance, if he
doesn’t like sometime he will showed the unhappy face. I’m a designer so I like Arts, he’s a
Automotive technician so he like mechanic stuff. When I took him to Uf韼�zi Musuem in Florence, he
was so impatience and I guess he wasn’t into arts too much like I did. He can say he went and
dne that too. hahah
Reply
Natalie says
at
Hi Sarah, Thanks for stopping by again. I suppose it is good that our hubbies have different
interests to us.
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Reply
Sarah Wu says
at
Yup they say opposite attracts. That is so true
Reply
Lavanya says
at
Hi Natalie!
It’s ironic as I came across your post a d ay after I had a very similar experience at the Goreme
open air museum myself.. and all for the same reasons. The tour groups and their guides have
never bothered me as much as they did in this place.. this is after I spent 3 weeks in Egypt
surrounded by tour groups!
We’re in Gaziantep right now and had a chance to visit the Mosaic museum which is 20 times
better than Goreme and one of the best museums i’ve ever been to and the fee for it is a
reasonable 5TL. (Just when i was about to give up on museums completely!:)
Btw did you go to the Dark Church in the Goreme Museum? We decided to skip it!
Reply
Natalie says
at
Hi Lavanya. Enjoy Gaziantep. So jealous as that is on my list of places to go. I can not
remember going to the Dark Church in Goreme, I found that after a while all the churches
started to look the same! A case of see one, seen them all.
Reply
Gizem says
at
Hi Kim,
What a shame that you found the this unique ancient christian worshipping place so dull.
Ooopppsss , sorry were you so poor not to get a self- guided tour that costs 5 tl ,explains you
every detail in 10 languages by th way, that 韼�rst christian school was established there??? What a
dull place to see , may be for less interested people to be more polite , yes it may seem a bit dull.
By the way it is a great gods place and you can almost feel and hear all the prayers once done. But
well since i am Muslim and Turkish what do i understand right. By the way 200 mt. From that toilet
you can 韼�nd another made for 10 people but why bother to ask. And you were in Turkey so next
time try to get a Turkish coffee for an experience but yet again it may be a little expensive for your
taste
Reply
Natalie says
at
Gizem – Kim, never said she felt the place was dull. She said she never went. As for the rest of
your comment, out of order. Next time it will be edited or not approved.
Natalie wrote about..The Blue Cave and Kostos the Greek
Reply
budget jan says

at
Can you tell me what time of year you were there. Probably a case of Snowball Effect. Did you see
similar things elsewhere in Goreme – I am just trying to decide whether we will go to the open air
museum or not. Normally we are not museum kind of travellers. We arrive in Istanbul on 2nd
September and have 6 weeks in the country.
budget jan wrote about..Budget Travel Interview with Krista Bjorn from Rambling Tart

Reply
Nat says
at
I was there in November Jan. It is considered one of the most see places in Goreme and
despite its title, it is not really a museum. There are no artefacts on display or anything. It is
just the cave churches. Good to hear you will be here in September. Any other places apart
from Istanbul and Cappadocia
Reply
sandrine says
at
Hi Nathalie, we’re in Göreme now and driving past the museum yesterday we saw a huge number
of big buses. the tour groups is the reason we stopped going but until a few years ago it was quite
different (also we had a museum card). fortunately there’s plenty of painted churches in isolated,
beautiful spots in and around Göreme. hope you found them and enjoyed them!
Reply
Nat says
at
Enjoy Goreme Sandra, glad I am no where near all the tour buses!
Reply
Marysia @ My Travel Affairs says

atELSE
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Cappadocia is one of the most beautiful places in Turkey I have ever visited, maybe because of its
uniqueness. So superb, and ballooning over it was one of the best experiences ever.
Marysia @ My Travel Affairs wrote about..Israel Diaries: Ashkelon & Ashdod
Reply
Lisa M says
at
Hi:
I’m sorry that the Open Air Museum didn’t do it for you. I really enjoyed it and was fortunate
enough to visit in March when I had the place almost entirely to myself. Actually the frescoes are
not the same in each church; they vary in colour, design, and content; however, to appreciate this
one really needs to be lucky and be able to spend some time inside the churches without the
crowds.
Here are some of my photos:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113755521877849570783/albums/5309700197498276033?
banner=pwa
https://plus.google.com/photos/113755521877849570783/albums/5311209268689565425?
banner=pwa
Cheers!
Lisa M wrote about..May Art in Vancouver
Reply
Natalie says
at
I was referring to the cave churches themselves and not the frescoes Lisa. Think like you say,
without the crowds it would have been a better visit
Reply
Gabriel says
at
I de韼�nitely think it’s a snowball effect that happened there. I personally have never been to the
place so can’t speak from experience but it’s usually best to site see in tourist friendly places in the
early morning or around closing time. IT also makes for better pictures because of the light =)
Gabriel wrote about..A Trip Back in Time – Fortaleza Ozama
Reply
Natalie says
at
I have only recently learned that tip about visiting early morning or closing time Gabriel. What
a fab idea. Not sure why I didn’t think of it
Reply
Carlo says
at
Going to Cappadocia in September and found your website while planning my itinerary. Have to
say this article made me laugh. It gave me memories of my temper losing experience at the Uf韼�zi
Gallery in Florence when I waited for around hour in line (despite prebooking ticket) only to 韼�nd at
security (NO SIGNS!) I could not take a camera in so had to leave in locker…which i grudgingly did,
but when i went back to the security they claimed they didn’t know I’d just been there a couple
minutes ago and had to go back to the back of the line for of course another hour wait.
Eventually lost my temper (something very rare) at a poor security person inside the museum
after getting sick of all the paintings with cherubs in them and the crowd jostling.

Reply
Samuel says
at
There are several large cave cities. The largest of them, ennobled and no light. It can be accessed
if an agreement with the local speleologist. He will spend a very exciting tour, and will continue to
you scare ))
Reply
Tom @ Waegook Tom says

at
Oh, I remember the museum. I chose to sit away from the crowds and just admire the view. You’re
right though, once you’ve seen one of the churches, you’ve seen them all. I wouldn’t go back, nor
would I recommend it to anyone heading to Goreme.
Tom @ Waegook Tom wrote about..Fantasy Five Reboot: Turkey
Reply
Mandy says
at
I too felt the same way about this museum, but loved Cappadocia so much I stayed for 10 days.
The valleys, which are free, were much more interesting!
Reply
pirate_wench says
at
I basically had the exact same experience, almost to a tee, down to being screamed at for taking a
picture. No signs! The only thing different was that I was the one complaining about the entrance
fee vs my boyfriend. We spent 5 minutes in there, then left. It was culture shock after three weeks
of hiking with goats in the countryside. Admittedly I understand I was a part of the masses, but
with the sheer number of people there now, I am on the fence on whether I can recommend it or
not. I think we were there at the very beginning of the tourist season, right after Easter.
Reply
Nat says
at
It has kind of turned into a tacky place re the tourism but I suppose we have to appreciate the
history side of it
Reply
Ross says
at
I think every traveler has gone through this. It has de韼�nitely happened to me a few times and you
are wondering why the hell you went there in the 韼�rst place. On the other hand if you didn’t go then
the regret would be gnawing at you for months!
Ross wrote about..Shopping in Saudi Arabia
Reply
Natalie says
at
Very true Ross – I would have been wondering about it for ages
Reply
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Dave says
at
Ha Ha… Love the post! Sometimes, its the less than perfect days that make somewhere more
memorable though, especially if you can laugh at them afterwards!
Reply
Selma says
at
ONE toilet?! Talk about an epic planning fail…!
Selma wrote about..The 5 Best Hotel Pools in Dubai!
Reply
busylizzy says
at
I’m not a big fan of the Open Air museum either – not when there are so man other open-air
places to freely visit on your own. However, if you do go, the best (quietiest) time to visit is either
韼�rst thing, when they open, or around midday when all the tour groups are off having lunch in
Avanos or Ihlara.
Reply
Natalie says
at
Good tip Lizzy – Thanks for that
Reply
busra can says

at
Goreme open air museum entrance fee is just 20 TL in 2015 season. it is around 7 euro.we really
pay more than 10 Euro for museums or historical places in Europe. Goreme open air museum
dates back to 3rd century BC and it is great place with its freascoes on the walls.
Now Goreme open air museum is run by a private company so there are more than one toilet and
shops for coffe or guide books.
Reply
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17/11/2016 Goreme

ISTANBUL CAPPADOCIA AEGEAN MEDITERRANEAN BLACK SEA

SOUTH EAST OF TURKEY

5 Years Later : The Goreme Open Air

Arriving at the Goreme Open Air Museum

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Map data ©2016 Google,

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Natalie Contact me..

Filed Under: Cappadocia, History

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@nomad. That book must de韼�nitely have been old.

Thanks for stopping by Nomad and Yellow Flower.

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Other than that…Cappadocia…amazing!

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turkey's for life says

Yup they say opposite attracts. That is so true

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budget jan says

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Marysia @ My Travel Affairs says

Marysia @ My Travel Affairs wrote about..Israel Diaries: Ashkelon & Ashdod

Lisa M wrote about..May Art in Vancouver

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Gabriel wrote about..A Trip Back in Time – Fortaleza Ozama

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Tom @ Waegook Tom says

Tom @ Waegook Tom wrote about..Fantasy Five Reboot: Turkey

Ross wrote about..Shopping in Saudi Arabia

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ONE toilet?! Talk about an epic planning fail…!

Selma wrote about..The 5 Best Hotel Pools in Dubai!

Good tip Lizzy – Thanks for that

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busra can says

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