Pottery workshop in Avanos

Avanos sits on the Kızılırmak river, whose red clay has been fired into pottery since the Hittites. The workshop is a cave studio run by a family of master potters, and your group takes it over for the afternoon.

The master gives a short demonstration on the traditional kick wheel, then everyone gets a wheel and a helper. Most people centre the clay and pull a small bowl within 30 minutes; the rest of the session is for shaping, trimming and adding a mark of your own. A second room is set up for hand-painting finished pieces in local patterns.

Pieces are fired and glazed after you leave and shipped to your office within four weeks, so the workshop also works as a team gift.