Cappadocia welcomes more than 35,000 visitors in two days

NEVŞEHİR

In the first two days of the nine-day-long Eid al-Adha holiday, more than 35,000 tourists have visited the Cappadocia region, bringing the occupancy rate of hotels to 100 percent.

After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the Eid al-Adha holiday to last nine days, 35,347 local and foreign tourists visited the museums and ancient ruins in the Cappadocia region in the first two days of Eid.

In the Cappadocia region, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, fairy chimneys, underground and above-ground ancient cities, breathtaking valleys and rock formations, as well as horse, ATV safari, jeep safari and balloon tours, have attracted great interest during this year’s Eid al-Adha holiday.

Hotel reservations increased considerably after the Eid al-Adha holiday was extended to nine days. According to the data of the central Anatolian province of Nevşehir’s Governor’s Office Museum Directorate, the number of people visiting the museums and archaeological sites in the Cappadocia region exceeded 35,000.

Some local and foreign tourists spending their holiday in the Cappadocia region told local media that everyone should visit it at least once in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, the hourly hot air balloon tours in Cappadocia start from 100 euros, corresponding to about 2,844 Turkish liras.

Around 27 companies in Cappadocia provide hot air balloon rides, with excited tourists lining up for a ride at the first light of the morning.

Dozens of balloons rise into the sky one after the other from the take-off areas between Göreme town and Çavuşin village of Avanos district.

Stating that the prices sometimes vary up to 200 euros for a hot air balloon ride, tour operator Halis Aydoğdu said that hot air balloon rides with baskets carrying 20, 24 and 28 people are carried out in one hour or 75 minutes.

However, local tourists coming to the region for the holiday are upset with the prices.

Explaining that the only thing some of the local tourists can do is to “watch” the balloons above, which are the most important symbol of the region, one visitor said that they expect the company officials to set affordable prices or discounts specifically for Turkish tourists.