The more I travel, the more I want to be outdoors. I want to be deep in a canyon, lost in a jungle, or found in a forest. “Biophilia” is apparently on the minds of other travelers, too. There are the usual national parks in the US and far off places like Patagonia and Easter Island, but other places aren’t as known, and that’s what I love to uncover.
Cappadocia is an isolated region in Turkey coveted for its 150 or so hot air balloons that ascend at sunrise every day, weather permitting. Most tourists, according to locals I spoke with, come to the region just to secure a spot in a balloon. But Cappadocia is far beyond its balloons. The region is completely underrated for its stunning hikes, its remarkable Goreme Open-Air Museum (aUNESCO World Heritage Site), a vibrant culinary scene, and distinct natural landscapes, including the Fairy Chimneys and rose colored canyons.
Perhaps better yet, after hours of hiking every day, I got to savor another kind of treasure: the exceptional accommodations and location of Cappadocia’s only Relais & Chateaux gem, the Museum Hotel. Carved into the ancient caves of Uçhisar, the Museum Hotel is a living “museum,” an antiquities collection where guests sleep amid artifacts from the region, curated over decades by the property's owner, Ömer Tosun. The 30-room property, opened in 2003, feels like the home of your most intriguing, magical uncle, complete with peacocks and tiny turtles that wander the grounds amid the skyline overlooking the valleys below. Drinking a latte near the pool one morning, I chuckled to myself while watching the hot air balloons drift lazily over the Red Valley (Kizilçukur Vadisi) and Rose Valley (Güllüdere Vadisi) in the distance. Where else in the world could I watch such a sunrise, sitting on a 6th-century stone wall with a white peacock afoot? The Museum Hotel is otherworldly.
Adding to the Museum Hotel’s appeal is Lil’a, the hotel’s restaurant overseen by Executive Chef Saygin Sesli, a Turkish born chef who snatched up Relais &Chateaux’s Rising Chef award in 2023. The food is its own magical experience as Chef Sesli takes diners on an adventure of the cuisine of Anatolia, the broader area of Turkey where Europe collides with Asia and the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black Seas. (Cappadociais in east-central Anatolia.) Before starting his position at the Museum Hotel in 2018, Sesli spent weeks interviewing elders in the local villages, inquiring about the most time honored dishes. I could sense the love in Sesli’s cuisine, from the smoked yogurt dollops on the testi kebabs to the stone oven madeAvanos casserole. Hearty and heartfelt is hard to nail at aRelais &Chateaux restaurant, and Sesli achieves it.
It was a joy and certainly a relief to dine at Lil’a after the big hikes I did in the region every day. One of my guides mentioned so few travelers take advantage of the natural beauty, instead opting just for a balloon ride or piling onto a tour bus to go shopping. I hope this changes for Cappadocia as the region is an outdoor lover’s must-see. Every morning, I stepped right from the Museum Hotel and wandered down the cobble stoned streets to start on a trail. The seven mile trail along Love Valley, so named after its curious rock columns formed from millions of years of erosion, is wondrous. A shorter hike can be had in Rose Valley, ideal at sunsets to take in the pink hue of the jagged rocks. The rock formations are impressive enough, but I loved the delight of the little cafe and historic church found at the end of the trail, both carved right out of the volcanic rock of the valley.
When I returned to the Museum Hotel the afternoon after my hike in Love Valley, I learned the property owns an event space right atop on the valley, so called Love Hill. I smiled. Of course, it’d be only fitting that the magic of the Museum Hotel continued to pour right into the enchanting land it is carved out of. I can’t wait to return.
