House in the Rock: Where the Kitchen Smells of Stone and Coffee

#hellohalloween

I was walking along the road between Uchisar and Göreme—a dusty road overlooking a valley and pillars resembling elongated mushrooms. One of them stood out from the others: at the foot of it was a door, and above it was a sign reading "Coffee & View."

A man in a knitted hat came out and said in English:
"Come in. Just to see."
And so I went in.

Inside was a cafe. The walls were made of tuff, smooth and cool. Ceramics and books filled the niches, and candles in bottles replaced lamps.
The man said his grandmother used to live here. Then they built a kitchen and a couple of tables.
The coffee is made on the sand, and it smells of cardamom and roasted chickpeas.

📍 Location: Between Uchisar and Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey. About a 15-minute walk from the lower part of Uchisar Fortress. 🕐 When to go: In the morning—the shadows from the rocks are still long, and the road is almost empty.

⸻

How to get there (current as of 2025)

🚶 On foot:
From the center of Uchisar, take the road to the Göreme Valley. There are no signs, but locals know the place as "cave café near the fairy chimneys."

🚗 By car:
You can stop on the side of the road and walk a couple hundred meters.

☕ Tip: Even if you're not into coffee, stop in. It's one of those places where the past and present literally live in the same room.