Cappadocia Tour

Cappadocia Pottery Workshop in Avanos

Throw your own pot on a traditional kick wheel with a master potter in a cave workshop in Avanos.

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Tour Overview

Shape your own piece of Cappadocia at Chez Galip, one of the oldest and most respected pottery houses in Avanos. For thousands of years the red clay of the Kizilirmak, Turkey's longest river, has been worked into pots and jars on this exact stretch of riverbank, and the craft has passed from master to apprentice ever since the Hittites. In a cave workshop carved into the soft rock, a master potter sits at the traditional kick wheel, guides your hands into the spinning clay, and helps you throw a piece of your own. Your work is then fired and prepared for you to take home. Programmes run from a one-hour introduction to a full day at the wheel, so families, couples and small groups can each find the right pace.

Tour Highlights

  • Throw your own pot on a traditional kick wheel with a master potter
  • Work with red clay from the Kizilirmak river, used here since Hittite times
  • A cave workshop in Avanos, the pottery capital of Cappadocia
  • Live demonstrations and the story of a craft passed down for generations
  • Your finished piece is fired and prepared for you to take home
  • Four programme lengths, from one hour to a full day
  • Small groups only, so every guest gets hands-on time at the wheel

What's Included

  • Pottery making throughout the workshop session
  • Guidance from a master potter
  • Firing and preparation of your finished piece
  • Handover of your piece at the end of the process
  • Workshop tour and live pottery demonstration
  • Refreshments according to the programme booked

What's Excluded

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Shipping of your piece to your home address, charged separately
  • Personal expenses and gratuities
  • Anything not listed under what's included

Tour Itinerary

Welcome and Workshop Tour

You arrive at the Chez Galip workshop in Avanos and are shown around the cave studio, the drying racks and the kilns. Your host explains how the red clay is dug from the banks of the Kizilirmak, prepared, and worked, and why this one town became the pottery centre of Cappadocia.

Watching the Master at Work

Before you touch the clay, a master potter demonstrates on the traditional kick wheel, the same design used here for centuries. Watching a tall, thin form rise out of a shapeless lump in under a minute is the best possible introduction to what you are about to attempt.

Your Turn at the Wheel

Now you sit at the wheel yourself. The master sets the clay, starts the wheel and puts your hands in the right place, then guides you through centring, opening and pulling the walls up. Everyone works at their own pace and you can throw more than one piece if time allows.

Firing and Taking Your Piece Home

Your finished work is set aside, fired and prepared for collection. If you prefer, unfired pieces can be taken away the same day. Shipping to your home address, in Turkey or abroad, can be arranged for an additional fee.

Programme Options and Prices

Four programmes are available, all priced per person:

1 Hour Workshop, EUR 55

2 Hour Workshop, EUR 81, including a coffee break

Half Day Workshop, around 4 hours, EUR 147, including local snacks

Full Day Workshop, around 6 to 7 hours, EUR 189, including lunch

Minimum 2 guests and maximum 10 guests per group. Advance booking is recommended. Please contact us by email or WhatsApp to confirm your preferred programme and date.

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