And then, going underground. Of course it is dark inside and the various lamps have to be switched on, but it is decked out with rugs, sofa, television and other amenities, a bed in a large iron frame and a modern marble bathroom.
Once inside, there's a particularly closed, sealed note to the silence in the room. At night, for a few moments before falling asleep, I could imagine the weight of the stone roof above me. Walking around in bare feet, I sometimes felt the scrunch of loose cave dust beneath.
This particular cave hotel, Yunak Evleri, in the town of Urgup, opened in 2000. The complex is a combination of six cave houses with 40 cave rooms dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries, and a 19th-century mansion. The decor is elegant. The reception area has a gramophone to one side, an Ottoman battle scene depicted in gold paint, and pottery. There's a lot of iron work, dark wood and uneven stones around.
When we first arrived, John Denver and Johnny Cash were blaring out incongruously from somewhere nearby. Soon, A Boy Named Sue was competing with traditional Turkish music and the adhan (Islamic call to prayer) to be the biggest noise. Which somehow seemed apt for Turkey with all its intriguing contradictions.
We saw a more modern image of Turkey at a $520,000 local park development in Urgup. It includes a playground, basketball courts but also an outdoors gym with equipment free to all - which seems like a damn good idea.
Another cave hotel in Urgup, Gamirasu, was the beautiful after-dinner setting for a Whirling Dervishes ceremony. The minimal lighting glow in the caves behind them enhanced the power of the music, voices and moves. We never saw their faces. When the music stilled and a lone voice filled the night it was particularly soulful.
Inside a cave hotel. Photo / Ian Lloyd
Cappadocia is famous for its rock formations. Some - iron grey - rise like jagged teeth from the earth. Others have a powdered, crumbling texture, folded like white sheets. Goreme is a great spot for viewing the splendour with a strangled "wow!" in your throat.
Over the centuries, people have used the soft stone (formed by volcanic activity and shaped by erosion) as homes, refuges and hotels. We met a woman living in a cave in Goreme and later we peered through one of the dozens of underground cities in the region. Up to 30,000 people would once have stayed in it for brief periods in times of danger.
These days, farmers store lemons in rock holes. Travelling around the region you can see crops of squash, which are farmed for their seeds, apricot trees and chicken coops.
The area was settled by the Hittites, followed by Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods. The antique city of Sobesos in Urgup is being restored. You can see the ruins of a heating system in a Roman bath complex and well-preserved mosaics in a meeting room.
Some of that history inspires pottery in Avanos, where Hittite designs are used along with popular tulip, carnation and rose patterns. Avanos also has a replica of an 800-year-old caravanserai, or Silk Road inn. With its dark oak ceilings, black iron fittings and sandy walls it is a lovely spot for lunch.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Emirates flies from Auckland to Istanbul via its hub in Dubai.
Details: Trafalgar offers a number of holidays including the eight-day Highlights of Turkey package (from $1650 a person, twin share), the 14-day Best of Turkey (from $2285 a person, twin share) and 15-day Secrets of Turkey for small groups (from $3525 a person, twin share). Departures from April 2015. Includes sightseeing, local guides, accommodation, many meals, transport, airport transfers and the services of a travel director. See Trafalgar.com or call 0800 Trafalgar.
The writer travelled as a guest of the Trafalgar Group for a trip based on its Highlights of Turkey and Best of Turkey tours. Emirates assisted with flights.
