Daily Yoga Practice in Caves and on Rooftops
We begin each morning in silence. Some days we gather on the rooftop as the sun rises and hot air balloons fill the sky. Other days, we practice inside a cool stone cave. Our sessions combine yoga, breath work, and meditation inviting you to move slowly, listen inwardly, and return to your body. Practices are designed for all levels, with space to challenge or soften depending on what you need.
Sufi Ceremony: Whirling Dervish Ritual
We’ll witness the sacred Sufi practice of the Whirling Dervish—mystics who spin to devotional music as a form of prayer. It’s not a show. It’s an offering. Rooted in the poetry of Rumi and the path of love, this ritual opens a doorway into a world where movement becomes meditation. We watch in stillness. We feel something shift inside oursleves.
Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride
One early morning, before the call to prayer echoes through the hills, we rise into the sky. In a hot air balloon, we float over the ancient landscapes. We go close to the valleys, fairy chimneys, and forgotten cave homes below. It’s quiet up there. Surreal. Like slipping into a dream you don’t want to wake from.
Valley Walks & Sunrise Balloon Watching
We walk through stone-carved valleys and ancient cave sites—places that once held homes, churches, and civilizations. Some mornings we simply sit, wrapped in blankets, sipping tea as dozens of hot air balloons rise with the sun. These are not tours. They’re slow pilgrimages. Quiet invitations to remember wonder.
Meditations Inside Ancient Caves
We sit inside chapels carved before memory. One cave echoes as if the walls themselves are listening. Another is hidden within the house. In these spaces, we hold guided meditations, silent seated meditation, small rituals, sometimes with music, chanting, or candlelight. You’ll feel the presence of something older than language. Something steady and still.
Pottery Workshop with Local Artisans
In a nearby town with a beautiful river, we meet Turkish potters and sit at the wheel. You’ll shape clay into something simple and real—a small vessel, a bowl, a memory made tangible. The act of working with earth grounds us and connects us to the land. The tradition connects us to the generations of hands that came before.
Mystical Dinner Show: Stories of Ottoman Women
This is the best dinner performance we have ever attended. It’s a multi-sensory ritual. As we eat, performers share the forgotten stories of women from the Ottoman Empire through smell, movement, sound, art, masks, food. It’s immersive and intimate, a little spooky, woven with flavor, emotion, and atmosphere.
Shared Meals & Communal Living
Our home for the week is an artist’s house, hand-built by a couple whose creativity lives in every tile, plate, and corner. We share space here—rooms, meals, stories, and silence. Vegetarian meals are made with care and shared like rituals. Some nights are quiet. Others full of music and firelight. Together, we create a rhythm of living that feels less like a retreat and more like returning home.
FULL DESCRIPTION This retreat begins the moment you land in Cappadocia. We'll help coordinate shuttle transportation from the airport to the retreat home—a hand-built sanctuary just outside a small town. While your flight isn’t included, everything else is: your meals, your room, your experiences, and your entry into a space unlike any other. Some travelers choose to spend time in Istanbul before or after. If you do, we’ll happily share recommendations. The house itself is alive with art. Every wall, tile, and doorway was shaped by the hands of an artist who raised her family here. Her husband built the structure. She filled it with soul. You can feel it when you enter. It’s not perfect—some things creak, but it’s sacred. You’ll stay in a private or shared room, each with its own charm and unique art. Outside, the valleys stretch wide and are accessible from the house. At sunrise, hot air balloons rise like lanterns over the landscape. We’ll meditate in caves. In a chapel from another time. On the rooftop as the day begins. Some practices happen underground, where silence feels ancient, where it feels like time doesn't exist. Our days are grounded in yoga, breathwork, and meditation, designed to realign your inner world. Workshops invite creativity, reflection, and reconnection with what matters most. You’ll shape red clay into pottery with local artisans. Float above volcanic rock formations in a hot air balloon. Walk through valleys that whisper old stories. Share tea under the stars. Eat food prepared with care—bright, flavorful, and entirely vegetarian. And one night, you’ll experience a dinner show that awakens all the senses, honoring the stories of Ottoman women through ritual and performance. This isn’t a vacation. It’s not a wellness escape. It’s a homecoming to something real—within yourself, and within a land that holds a kind of magic you’ll feel long after you leave. If you have questions—small or strange or logistical—I’m here. Call me, text me, email me. This retreat isn’t just something I’m offering. It’s something I believe in with my whole being and I’m also hosting because I cannot wait to return here! Sample Daily Schedule (approximate and flexible) 7:30 AM – Silent tea and journaling 8:00 AM – Yoga, breathwork & meditation (often in a cave or on the roof) 9:30 AM – Turkish vegetarian breakfast: eggs, jams, olives, herbs, cheese, tea and Turkish coffee 11:00 AM – Guided experience (pottery, valley walk, meditation workshop, Sufi ritual, etc.) 1:30 PM – Light lunch 3:00 PM – Rest, integration 5:00 PM – Community practice, sunset circle, or meditation in nature 7:00 PM – Dinner 8:30 PM – Evening gathering (fire, sound, yoga nidra, or moonlit walk)
