KAYADAM CAVE HOTEL

Information : Rudy Cochez, co-owner of Kayadam

PICTURES & VIRTUAL TOUR ON

At the top of the Ürgüp cliff, a small cave hotel, Kayadam, overlooks an enchanting landscape with its 'fairy chimneys'. These surprising formations with a hat-like rock on the top of each one makes one thinks that you are looking at a lunar landscape. The Kayadam hotel rooms are built in layers of basaltic lava produced by eruption of the Erciyes, Hasan and Melendiz volcanoes some 10 million years ago. This natural rock-bed was sculpted both by nature and industrious people.

A Surrealist Landscape

You will be impressed when you reach this extraordinary fairy-tale landscape. All around you, and as far as the eye can see, strange rock figures stand out against the pure blue sky. From the long winding road leading to the ancient town called Bashisar in Seldjoukid times, you will see the old cliff of Ürgüp displaying its thousands of caves. The beautiful front of the Kayadam hotel, with its arcades and pillars, harmoniously blends into the shapes and colours of the natural rock.

The front of Kayadam

Kayadam, a small hotel built into the cliff

In front of you, you will notice the high natural rock wall of Kayadam with its built-in rooms. You will be impressed by the total harmony of the arcades, the flights of stairs, and the terraces, which match the beauty of this natural setting.

Breakfast at Kayadam

Antic architecture

You will be even more fascinated when you walk into the cave rooms of Kayadam. In each room you will be reminded of past ways of living because of the antique fire places, grain mills, and authentic nooks and crannies. The rock itself is suprisingly beautiful with delicate hues of beige and ochre, as well as various patterns and shapes that seem to have been sculpted by a artist.

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Rudy and his family at Kayadam

Refined decoration

Wooden furniture, Ottoman tiles, highly coloured traditional rugs, and hand-made embroidered bed-linen add a warm touch to the elegant rooms. Everything has been done to help you make the most of your stay : comfortable beds, modern bathrooms and kitchen equipment. A warm light comes through large windows, enhancing the beautiful space of the rooms. Each room of Kayadam looks onto the garden and has a terrace with a panoramic view. You will enjoy the changing light during the day, which bathes the landscape with red hues at sunrise, white hues under the scorching sun, and ochre colours at sunset.

Cave room

Mythical place

You will feel the whole beauty of this mythical place, which will remind you of all the civilisations that once thrived there : the Hittites, the Medes, the Persians, the Romans, the Byzantines and the Turks.

Kayadam, cave house of the first centuries A.D.

Archeologists think the Kayadam caves must date back to 400-600 AD, at the time when the first Christian groups fled Roman persecutions and settled in the caves of Cappadocia. These groups also built the first rupestral churches, many of which can be visited to see the extraordinarily beautiful and well-preserved rock paintings, although most are only known by local people.