DAY TWO AERIAL & ECCLESIASTICAL WONDERS

Set your alarm early: the quintessential Cappadocia experience demands a pre-dawn start — hot air balloon rides are timed for gorgeous golden light and minimal wind. You’ll likely lift off before sunrise from the plain near the particularly phallic outcrops of Paşabağ, drifting alongside several dozen other balloons at altitudes of up to 2,600ft for jaw-dropping vistas. Back on terra firma, explore the Gorëme Open Air Museum, a cluster of over 30 rock-hewn churches, established by Byzantine Christians from the sixth century. The most sophisticated and vividly coloured frescoes adorn the 11th-century Karanlık Kilise (‘dark church’), Elmalı Kilise (‘apple church’) and, a short distance from the main site, the larger Tokalı Kilise (‘church of the buckle’). The latter’s distinctive blue paintings are currently undergoing expert restoration.

AFTERNOON

Until the demise of the Ottoman Empire, large numbers of Antiochian Greek Christians, (known locally as Rûm) lived in Cappadocia, often in ‘Greek’ villages. One such is Mustafapaşa, formerly known as Sinasos, today a peaceful little town off the main tourist trail. Head to the Old Greek House, whose vine-shaded courtyard is the perfect place to try Ottoman cuisine such as barbunya (beans cooked in a tomato sauce) and delectable baklava. Roam the quiet streets, lined with attractive old konakları (mansions) with ornately carved facades, and seek out the elaborately decorated doorway of the Ottoman caravanserai, now a college, and the grapevine motif surrounding the entrance to the 18th-century Church of Constantine and Helena. Work off those beans with a hike along the Balkan Valley to little-visited Pancarlık Church, to admire its frescoes in solitude.

EVENING

Aktepe Hill is Cappadocia’s most popular sunset spot, commanding epic views across the folded russet rocks of Kızılcukur Vadisi (‘red valley’) that flame in the warm light of the golden hour. Arrive early or sharpen your elbows. Alternatively, detour to nearby Ortahisar, a sleepy settlement with its own rock fortress providing an impressive backdrop. Further south along the Balkan Valley lies Ibrahimpaşa, another little-visited village that’s home to one of the region’s most appealing restaurants. At Babayan Evi, the Koçdemir family prepare local favourites, some cooked in a large al fresco tandir, to serve in their part-cave home or on the canyon-view terrace. Kuzu kaburga (lamb rib) is a speciality. Replete, return to Uçhisar for a nightcap at newly opened Millocal, one of a host of restaurant-bars catering to sophisticated Istanbulite palates beneath the spotlit fortress.

Food at Millocal, a newly opened eatery beneath the fortress in Uçhisar