Cappadocia Cave Suites: A Unique Cave Hotel Design Inside The Famous Fairy Chimneys _ Bora Özkök


Cappadocia Cave Suites is located in the city of Göreme, one of the most beautiful and characteristic locales in the Cappadocia region. This is a unique cave hotel that combines the original houses and cave dwellings of the Hittite, Roman, and Byzantine Periods with the luxurious comfort of the 21st Century. The famous fairy chimneys and fantastic colorful shapes of the landscape make the region of Cappadocia a natural wonder of the world. People come here to relax and explore this historic, wondrous and romantic landscape while enjoying the finest in hotel accommodation, food, service, and world-famous Turkish hospitality.


If one is looking for an exotic place that mixes modern luxury with ancient, unique history, look no further than Bora Özkök's award-winning Cappadocia Cave Suites.
A deluxe cave hotel with thirty-six rooms that were built from ancient caves carved over a thousand years ago. This one-of-a-kind hotel was built and designed by Cultural Folk Tours' director, Bora Özkök.
The hotel's spacious units almost all have windows to the outside with no two rooms alike and most features a Jacuzzi.
Several rooms have beautiful 200-year-old wooden ceilings and one is decorated in original 8th century painted frescoes showing the Maltese cross. The views of the Göreme Valley and the Fairy Chimneys from the hotel are spectacular.


Cappadocia Cave Suites is centrally located, which is in walking distance to Göreme Town center and Göreme Open-air museum.
Great care was taken to honor the history of the original site, developed 1100 to 1200 years ago, and which included a place of worship, Christian chapel, wineries, houses, and barns.
While talking about facilities, modern luxury mixes with ancient history at Cappadocia Cave Suites. Within the hotel is a spacious cave restaurant. A rich, open buffet breakfast of regional specialties is included here.


The hotel offers 36 rooms which are the combination of Fairy Chimney Suites and Cappadocian Deluxes. The rooms and courtyards offer breathtaking views of the Göreme Valley.
The rooms are constructed in local, hand-carved stone blending into the architecture of the area. Some of them are carved into the rock and some are stone rooms. Here, no two rooms are alike in design or decoration. Majorly, there are cave, arch or stone rooms. Most of the rooms have fireplaces and a sitting area in the room.


Prepared in the kitchen, breakfast and dinner buffets include a rich variety of local delicacies and traditional items.
The Historia Restaurant: The main restaurant reflects the hotel’s interest in local foods and traditions. All products are carefully selected for their freshness. Recipes are selected for their authenticity.
Sunset Café: Wonderful valley and sunset views are visible from this terrace cafe. Here, one can enjoy light menu choices and hors d’oeuvres.
Dionysos Wine Fountain: A place where one can drink from the delicious grapes of the Cappadocia region.
Sultan Bar: Accompanying the rich selection of music, one may find selective Cappadocian wines and domestic and international spirits and cocktails.

History
Although there are many hotels in the area, there is only one Cappadocia Cave Suites. As the world was caught up in the knee-jerk reaction to 9/11/01, Bora Özkök , owner of the hotel and Cultural Folk Tours, Inc., reaffirmed his optimism in the future of international travel by undertaking to create a world-class hotel from three "fairy chimneys" in Cappadocia.

He purchased the first chimney in 1998 and waited until the ones on each side were available.
Each belonged to several owners but was abandoned, and real estate acquisition in Turkey is no easy matter.
When all three could be consolidated, restoration work began. An architect with an appreciation for the daunting task was engaged to remake these caves into a hotel that had been used for over 100 years as stables, cooking rooms, a chapel, and living quarters.


Ten truckloads of debris were hauled away, and the caves were excavated down to a dry and hard layer of stone, called ‘tuff’, defined as a thick layer of consolidated volcanic ash covered by a thin layer of basalt or other volcanic rock.
The caves also had to be excavated to achieve enough height for comfortable habitation, made possible because the stone is light and can be cut with simple tools.

The government-sponsored Historic Preservation Society in Göreme dictated that the exteriors of the "fairy chimneys" could not be altered, and with this, in mind, the work was completed on the first 18 units in time to open to travelers in the Fall of 2001, with a staff of 12.
Five years later the Hotel had expanded to 21 units, and by 2010 it boasted 36 units, mostly suites, and the original rooms were renovated.


When Bora was asked, "What made you think of doing this?" his answer was, "It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a unique project, and with my training as an architect, it was a challenge I embraced. Then to do the best possible job was an even greater challenge."
These conical "fairy chimneys" that dot the landscape are protected by UNESCO and are no longer allowed to be made into hotels. So visitors to Cappadocia Cave Suites are fortunate to sleep in these caves, redolent of history, both geological and human, nestled among the towering rock formations.


On the tours of Turkey that Bora has led each year for over 30 years, he has collected many examples of the arts and crafts of the area, and these one-of-a-kind items serve to make each room different. The furnishings are rustic and appropriate for the area.
Most suites are equipped with Spa tubs, sitting rooms, and all the conveniences of up-to-date hotels. With enormous attention to detail, each room has a different character, including the one that was a chapel, and if you are traveling with a group you might want to take a peek at the rooms of some of your fellow travelers.


In 2010, when the last rooms were completed, and the first ones refurbished, a new and very modern kitchen was added. The staff here turns out bountiful meals of typical Turkish cuisine, and if one is lucky, one may be staying at the Cave Suites when a cooking demonstration is underway. Or perhaps a woman will be showing guests how to make typical Turkish dolls, or a lesson in folk-dancing might be going on. There are many interesting things to do in the area, and the staff at the hotel can arrange for a guide, with or without a driver, who is multi-lingual, and incredibly knowledgeable.


The entire staff is dedicated, attentive, helpful, and eager to please. The landscaping is attractive, and changes with the seasons.
Whether one is staying for a day or a week, if the weather is nice, take the breakfast on the dining room terrace, watch the balloons that drift over the Göreme Valley when the winds are propitious, enjoy the varied rock formations, and at the right moment, listen to the call to prayer from the local muezzin as it drifts across the valley and echoes from the rocks.


Located within the UNESCO World Heritage Park, Cappadocia Cave Suites also offers easy access to hiking, horseback riding, hot air balloon rides, and more. This otherworldly landscape is regarded as one of the natural wonders of the World. There is always something new to enjoy, both here at the Cave Suites, and in Cappadocia.



Architects: Bora Özkök
Project: Cappadocia Cave Suites
Type: Cave Hotel
Year: 2010
Location: Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
Source: Cappadocia Cave Suites
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