One of the best hidden gems in Cappadocia are the pottery making establishments. Unlike most amazing things to see in Cappadocia, this one is completely free, well organized and is arguably the best pottery place to see.
What I love about this pottery place is that the tours are well organized and completely free! Better yet, they even give you a free little pottery souvenir.
We reached the place by car and it is located here. The name of the place is Chez Galip and is one of many pottery establishments in the Cappadocia region. After visiting many of these establishments in Cappadocia, I have to say that this is hands down the best pottery experience that we have had. Let me give you 5 reasons why this is a must see in Cappadocia.
1. See Pottery Making Demonstrated in the Workshop
Upon entering, you come to a room where there is a potter’s wheel. A well trained “potter” is ready to demonstrate how pottery has been made by hand for thousands of years.
What we found amazing about this part of the tour is the amazing skill of the potter. In just a few minutes he made a beautiful piece of art!
He offered us to give it a try and we declined. Watching him was enough of a delight.
The room is adorned with pictures of the owner, Galip, with famous people at famous places around the world.
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| The decorating part of the workshop. |
In the next room we see artists who are meticulously decorating the pottery from it’s raw state. The results are beautiful!
2. Meet the Owner of the Workshop
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| Galip (center) poses with our tour group. Some jokingly call him Einstein. Can you see the resemblance? |
Galip is the name of the owner. From the pictures you can tell that he is a well-known character. He even has pieces in the Musee de L’Homme in Paris, France. He also speaks decent English and is fluent in French and Turkish.
The picture shows us holding up small bowls that he gave us. This was a gift, and I assume it is a gift to all his visitors. It was a real nice touch and made us feel welcome.
Notice the sign above my head (on the left). It says that photos are forbidden. After this picture, we went on a tour of his gallery where pottery was selling for over $10,000. The highly decorative pieces are carefully guarded and no doubt keeps Chez Galip special.
3. Visit the Pottery Store
As I said, there are no photographs allowed when you get to the high ticket items, but there are places where you can take pictures. Here are a few.
These are not high end pieces and so we were allowed to photograph them. But these give you an idea of the caliper of Galip’s work. Many of the pieces that we could not take pictures of were well north of $10,000.
We live on a pioneer budget and almost all pieces were out of reach for us. But just the eye candy value was amazing. Many of the objects in the photographs above are in the $100 range, so if you are looking for a unique gift, this is a great choice. They even ship it for you and guarantee it’s safe arrival.
Keep in mind that as you walk through this store, you are located about 50 meters underground.
4. Visit the Hair Museum
It’s an odd pairing, but this place also has one of the strangest museums in the world – a hair museum. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records as among the top 10 strangest museums in the world.
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| The cave is filled with thousands of hair samples from visitors over the years. |
The underground cave has over 16,000 hair samples from women all over the world. Strange indeed! And yet there is another bizarre twist. Each hair sample has the name and address of the owner. Twice per year Galip chooses 10 samples. These receive an invitation to an all-expenses paid vacation to Cappadocia. They also receive an invitation to participate in Galip’s pottery workshop for free.
This part of the tour is not for everyone. So be sure to ask for it!
5. Cappadocia is all about Pottery
By far the most popular souvenir in Cappadocia is pottery.
The nearby Avanos River has produced red clay that is perfect for pottery Hence the thriving industry.
Pottery is so prolific, that it is hanging from almost every tree that is accessible to tourists. Here are a few examples.
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| People traditionally hang pottery from the trees in Cappadocia |
Even though we came to Cappadocia to see the balloons, an excursion to see a professional artist making pottery was a major highlight. The best time to see the balloons is in the early morning, so I recommend this as an after-lunch experience.
Since we live close to Cappadocia, we highly recommend Chez Galip as the best pottery workshop experience. It’s well organized, completely free, and everything you could ask for in a tour. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
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