About Kismet Cave Mansion

Our Story

Kısmet Cave Mansion is a family-run cave hotel shaped by the Anatolian way of living, passed down through generations in Göreme, Cappadocia. Our family has lived on this land for more than five generations. Our father, Faruk—known locally as "Kısmet Faruk"—was born and raised in a cave, just like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfathers before him.

For nearly 5,000 years, people have lived in caves in this region, from the time of the Hittites to the present day. Our family has always been part of this land. Farming, producing, cooking, and living in harmony with nature have never changed.

Faruk was born in Göreme to a family of farmers, as most people in Cappadocia once were. His mother wove carpets at home, while agriculture shaped daily life. In the late 1970s, when the first tourists began arriving in Göreme, he encountered foreign visitors for the first time—an unfamiliar and even frightening experience, shared by many locals at the time. As tourism slowly grew, he grew with it.

At a young age, Faruk began introducing visitors to his mother and inviting them to watch her weave carpets by hand. This became his first bridge between local life and tourism. Since 1982, tourism has been part of his life. In his early teens, he started working with visitors, and in his early twenties, he worked in carpet workshops, learning every step of traditional carpet making—from spinning wool and preparing natural dyes to hand weaving.

Although tourism became his profession, Faruk never left farming or village life behind. Agriculture has always remained a family tradition. Today, he continues farming not as a business, but as a way of living—just as his family always did. Our home still has horses, cows, chickens, and pigeons. We grow grapes, produce our own food, and keep these traditions alive, sharing their flavors and stories with our guests.

At the heart of this way of living is our mother, Şirin. She prepares our traditional breakfasts every morning and has been Faruk's strongest support throughout his journey. By keeping regional Turkish and Anatolian cuisine alive through everyday home cooking, she continues to pass on the flavors, culture, and traditions of Anatolia—just as they have been lived for generations.

In the early 2000s, Faruk took his first step into hospitality. In 2001, he carefully restored a fairy chimney located in a UNESCO World Heritage area that belonged to our family. The restoration preserved Ottoman, Seljuk, and Byzantine architectural elements. That same year, the first guest was welcomed to Kısmet Cave House, our sister hotel and the beginning of our hospitality journey.

Kısmet Cave Mansion was completed in 2018. Located opposite Kısmet Cave House, this area consists of a historic house featuring several cave rooms dating back to the Byzantine period, formerly used as storage spaces. After an eight-year restoration process, the structure was preserved in its original form, allowing its historical character to continue living on.

Today, at Kısmet Cave Mansion, our aim is to bring the old Anatolian way of living into modern comfort. Handmade products, ingredients from our family farm, and home-style cooking—such as fresh milk from our happy cow "Sarı Kız" and homemade yogurt—are part of every stay. Guests wake up to breathtaking valley and hot air balloon views, and experience hospitality shaped by real family life.