Festival boosts Cappadocia tourism

The tourism crisis has naturally also hit one of Turkey's first touristic regions, Cappadocia. I was in Cappadocia to see a close friend's newly-bought house in one of its villages, and to participate in the Cappadox Festival.
 
The Cappadox Festival spreads to Uçhisar, Avanos and Göreme with concerts, shows, contemporary art activities and open-air hikes. It has brought dynamism to the region for four days. 

The festival was organized by Pozitif of Doğuş Group. The group three years ago partnered with Argos in Cappadocia Hotel in Uçhisar, which was a meeting point for famous CEOs, businesspeople and artists. The 51-room Argos in Cappadocia has been elected the "Most beautiful Historic Luxury Hotel in the World."  

One of the small partners of the hotel for 15 years, Mehmet Özkılıç, spoke about tourism in Cappadocia. He has been a tourism executive and an investor for 40 years. He knows the history and mythology of the region very well. 

Özkılıç said Cappadocia went under the West's spotlight with the drawings of French travelers in the 19th century of fairy chimneys. It was discovered in the 1960s again by the French. 

The first Club Med in Turkey was opened in Cappadocia in 1968. Also in those years European hippies transited in Cappadocia after their first stop in Istanbul on their way to Katmandu. The film "Medea," directed by Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini featuring Maria Callas in the 1970s, has "boosted tourism here," Özkılıç said. After the shooting of this film, Cappadocia became a favorite for many famous directors. Özkılıç himself played the role of a taxi driver about 20 years ago in a film directed by French director Clause Lelouch in Cappadocia. 

Just as many popular Turkish TV series, the film ...