Turkey’s Cappadocia gears up for Ukrainian tourists

By Behcet Alkan

NEVSEHIR, Turkey (AA) - Turkey’s picturesque Cappadocia region that offers visitors fabulous vacation opportunities with its unique natural, historical and cultural richness is gearing up for Ukrainian tourists.

Tourism professionals in the region are excited to start direct flights from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to central Anatolia's Nevsehir province beginning March 25.

Cappadocia is prominent for its unique "fairy chimney" volcanic cones, valleys, underground cities and houses that are carved into rock, as well as its churches, chapels and shelters used by early Christians who were fleeing the Roman Empire.

The region is preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site and uses Turkey’s ground-breaking Safe Tourism Certificates for safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Tayfur Solak, who is in charge of the store where souvenirs are sold at the entrance of The Goreme Open Air Museum, one of the most visited places in the region, told Anadolu Agency that workers put products suitable for the shopping preferences of Ukrainians on shelves.

The natural, historical and cultural richness of the region would amaze Ukrainian tourists, according to Mehmet Kececi, a Cappadocia representative of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association, who noted that Cappadocia is also an important place for the Orthodox world.

The region offers tourists a visual feast in central Turkey and appears like a fairy-tale land with its blankets of snow and fog,

Hot-air balloon tours in Cappadocia, which were temporarily suspended on March 17, 2020, as part of measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, resumed on Aug. 23.