The Ihlara Valley is on many people’s short list of places to visit in Turkey. For good reason. It’s often considered part of Kapadokya (Cappadocia), but it’s a fair bit west of the main area of Kapadokya. Ferda and I had both been to Kapadokya before, once together, but neither of us had been to Ihlara or Güzelyurt before.
The excuse for this trip was to visit Ferda’s good friend, Yeliz, who moved with her husband and two kids to Kırşehir recently (for his work). Kırşehir is a small provincial capital smack in the middle of the country, only about 100km north of the Ihlara area. Few tourists make it to Kırşehir. There’s not so much to see. It does seem like a pleasant enough place to raise kids. We enjoyed the beautiful park just across the street from Yeliz and Ozkan’s home.
