Area: 5.467 km²

Population: 309,914 (2000)

Traffic Code: 50

DISTRICTS: Nevsehir (center), Acigol, Avanos, Derinkuyu, Gulsehir, Hacibektas, Kozakli, Urgup.

The province of Nevsehir is one of the major cities of Cappadoccia Region and displays a beautiful combination of nature and history. The geographic movements had formed the fairy chimneys and during the historical development process, mankind had settled and inhabited these natural wonders, fairy chimneys and carved houses and churches inside these formations and adorned these settlements with frescos, carrying the traces of the thousands of years of their civilizations.

SITES OF INTEREST: Goreme Historical National Park, Uchisar, Zeland, Ortahisar, Cavusin and Urgup historical settlements, Kaymakli and Derinkuyu underground cities, Peribacalari, St. Basil at Urgup, Tavsanli, Karacali, Elmali churches, Basmelek Monastry, Nevsehir and Urgup castles, Haci Bektas Veli Dervish Lodge, Avanos Grand Mosque, Damat Ibrahim Pasha, Taskin Pasha and Karavezir mosque complexes, Kaya, Alaeddin, Kizilkaya village, Ascibasi mosques and Tascami (Stone Mosque), Beylik Hani (inn), Sarihan, Kozakli hot springs, Nevsehir, Hacibektas and Urgup Museums, Goreme and Zeland open air museums.

Highway: Reaching to the province of Nevsehir via highway is possible from the entire country.
Telephone of the Bus Station: (+ 90 - 384) 213 40 25
Air Transportation: The airport is approximately 30 km. away from the city center. Reaching to the airport is possible via busses, shared taxis and commercial taxis.

GEOGRAPHY: The area of the Nevsehir province is located on a very vast plateau in Central Anatolia, which is formed by the massing of the ashes and lava of old volcanoes like Erciyes, Melendiz and Hasan Mountains. This plateau was carved in depth by the longest river of the country, Kizilirmak River in the direction of east - west. And this area was also broken into pieces by the deep valleys formed by the branches of Kizilirmak River, which join the river from the southern and northern directions. The city center was founded at the western skirts of these vast and high plains, which is called as the, Kizilirmak plateau.
The province of Nevsehir displays the typical terrestrial climate properties with hot and dry summer seasons and cold and precipitant winter seasons. The Formation of the Fairy Chimneys

The corrosion of the tuff structure of the valley by the waters of the floods and winds had formed strange and interesting formations named 'peribacasi'. As the floodwaters find their way through the steep slopes, the hard rocks cracked and break off. As the easily abrading material found at the lower parts of the valley was carved deeply the slope was moved backwards, therefore forming a hat like formation on the top and a conical shaped body part preserved without corroding. The peribacalari with hat like formations are mostly encountered at the vicinity of Urgup district and are with conical bodies carrying a block of rock at the top section. The body is a variety of rock composed of tuff, tuffite and volcanic ash; and the hat like formation is formed from hard rocks like lahar and ignimbrite. Namely, the rock type forming the hat like formation is more resistant than the rock type forming the body part. This is the first condition for the formation of a peribacasi. According to the resistance of the rock at the hat like formation, the life span of the peribacalari varies between long or short periods.
Other types of peribacasi formed by erosion in the Cappadoccian Region are as follows; with cone, in the shape of mushroom, with pillars and pointed peribacalari. The Peribacalari are most frequently encountered at the valleys remaining inside the triangle of Urgup - UChisar - Avanos districts, at the region remaining between Urgup - Sahin efendi and at the vicinity of the Cat borough of Nevsehir province. The interesting twines formed at the skirts of the valleys by the rainwaters attain a different property to the region other than Peribacalari. The harmony of the colors encountered at the skirts of some valleys is formed because of the temperature differences between the lava layers. These formations could be found in UChisar, Cavusin - Gulludere, Goreme - Meskendir, Ortahisar - KizilCukur and Pancarlik localities.

HISTORY: The settlement and inhabitance history of the province extends to the date BC 3000 years and hosted numerous settlement places and civilizations until the prehistoric periods. The city was remembered with the name, Cappadoccian Kingdom in history. The province and the surrounding region had been under the reign of Hittites, Persians, Macedonians, Selevkosians, Romans, Byzantine, Seljukians, Dulkadirogullari and Ottomans.

DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT
- Visiting and seeing the rock churches of Nevsehir province and Byzantine wall fresco arts,
- Visiting the Hacibektas Museum in which the samples of Turkish -Islam art creations are exhibited,
- Visiting the Kulliye and Mosque of Damat Ibrahim Pasa located at the Nevsehir city center,
- Visiting the Hittite rock epitaph located in Acigol District,
- Buying earthenware pots and pans, adornments crafted from copper and onyx stone, and leather crafts as souvenirs,
- Trying to make earthenware pots in the pot and pan workshops, which are powered with the turning by your feet in Avanos,

SITES
Archaeological Sites: 93
Urban Sites: 11
Natural Sites: 15
Historical Sites: -
Other Sites
Archaeological and Natural Sites: 4
Archaeological and Urban Sites: 2
Historical and Natural Sites: 4
Historical and Natural Sites: 1
Natural and Urban Sites: 1
Total: 131
Cultural (at Single Construction Scale) and Natural Heritages: 928
TOTAL: 1059

CONTACT INFORMATION
Provincial Cultural Directorate
Tel: (384) 213 42 60
Fax: (384) 213 70 45

Cultural Centers
Hall with 184 seating capacity for plays, conferences etc. 480 m² Exhibition Hall 480 m² Library 690 m² Museum
Contact Address: Hasan Emmi Turbesi Yani 350 Evler Mah. No: 5 -

Nevsehir
Tel: (384) 213 54 50
Fax: (384) 212 43 38
State Fine Arts Gallery Directorate

Kultur Merkezi NEVSEHIR
Tel: (0 384) 213 17 26
Fax: (0 384) 213 42 60

Nevsehir Museum:
Tel:(384) 213 14 47
Fax: (384) 212 43 38

Hacibektas Museum
Address: Nevsehir Cad. Hacibektas - Nevsehir
Tel: (384) 441 30 22

Urgup Museum
Address: Kayseri Cad. No: 39 Urgup - Nevsehir
Tel: (384) 341 40 82

Governorship: (+90-384) 213 39 05
Municipality: (+90-384) 213 10 30
Hospital: (+90-384) 212 32 00
Police: (+90-384) 441 21 55
Gendarme: (+90-384) 311 20 14
Provincial Directorate: (+90-384) 212 95 73
Tourism Information Office: (+90-384) 213 36 59

SITES OF INTEREST IN CAPPADOCIA:

AVANOS
The old city of Avanos overlooks the longest river the Turkey, the Kizilirmak (Red River), which also separates it from the rest of Cappadocia. Located 18 km north of Nevsehir, the ancient name of this city used to be Venessa. The most famous historical feature of Avanos, which is still relevant and very visible today, is its production of earthenware pottery. The ceramic trade in this district and its countless pottery factories date right back to the Hittites, and the ceramic clay from the red silt of the Kizilirmak has always been used. It is a popular destination because of its attractive old town with cobbled streets, and superb views over the river.

Where to Visit in Avanos
Zelve About 5 km from Avanos and 1 km from Pasabaglari, Zelve was founded on the steep northern slopes of Aktepe. Consisting of three separate valleys, the ruins of Zelve is the area with the most 'fairy chimneys' - a famous sight special to Cappadocia - which here have sharp points and thick trunks. It is not known exactly when people began living in the dwellings carved into the rock, found in places like Uchisar, Goreme, Cavusin and Zelve. What is known is that Zelve was an important Christian community and religious centre in the 9th and 13th centuries, and the first religious seminars for priests were held in the vicinity.

Cavusin (Nicephorus Phocas) Church
It is beside the Goreme-Avanos road 2.5 km out of Goreme. The narthex of this church has fallen down. It has tunnel vaults, a high nave and 3 apses. It dates back to 964-965 AD.
Gulludere (St. Agathangelus) Church

It is located in the far left draw of the Gulludere valley about 2 km from the village of Cavusin. It was founded at the mouth of the draw on top of a steep slope.

The design of the nave is square with a flat ceiling and it has a single broad apse. The apse was added in the 9th or 10th century to the main structure dating back to the 6th - 7th century. There are 2 or 3 layers of frescoes in the apse, which indicates that it was painted regularly. Symbols of Gospel authors are drawn symmetrically and are sitting on the right and left of an enthroned Jesus.

In the middle of the flat ceiling is the relief of a cross in the middle of a circle surrounded with palm leaves and garlands. This sort of relief most likely belongs to the Iconoclastic period. The people of the area had a great love for the cross and it continued to be used as a motif after the Iconoclastic era because it symbolized the "Holy Cross" in Jerusalem.
Ozkonak Underground City

Located 14 km northeast of Avanos, this underground city was built on the northern slopes of Mt. Idis in an area with lots of strata made up of volcanic granite. The extensive galleries of the city are spread out over a large area and connected to each another by tunnels. Unlike the underground cities in Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, there are very narrow (5 cm) and long holes between the different levels of the city that used to provide communication between the different levels of the city. The ventilation of these neatly carved out rooms was provided by these holes when the city was sealed up against enemies.

The city was discovered in 1972 by the local muezzin and farmer Latif Acar, when trying to find out where the water disappeared to when tending to his crops. He first found an underground room which, when later excavated, revealed a whole city which housed an incredible 60,000 people for up to three months. A total of 10 floors were discovered, to a depth 40m, although now only four are open.
Unlike the other underground cities in this area, besides the rolling stone doors, there were holes above the tunnels used for dumping hot oil on the enemy. similar to Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, Ozkonak has a ventilation system, a water well, a winery and rolling stone doors.
Opening hours: Summer 08.00 - 19.00; winter 08.00 - 17.00

URGUP
Urgup, 20 km east of Nevsehir, is one of the most important centres of the Cappadocia region. Like Goreme, it had numerous names in the course of its history, and its cave dwellings scattered around the village make it a very tourist-friendly destination. It has many hotels and guest-houses, good entertainment, old Greek houses from before the population exchange of 1923, and an atmosphere which has remained attached to its tradition despite a modernising tourist industry.
It is a good base to explore the nearby Goreme Valley.

Climate
From season to season, the climate is quite extreme. summers are hot and dry, with warm nights. Winters are cold and it can even snow, while spring and autumn are mild.

History

With a geological structure of volcanic formations, Urgup was established within the region which had been shaped into fantastic forms known as 'Fairy Chimneys', through erosions of water and wind. The were formed as floodwater poured down the sides of the valleys, combined with strong winds which tore away the softer volcanic rocks, resulting in this unique landscape. It is an important centre in Cappadocia, and has been known by many names: Osian (Assiana), Hagios Prokopios (Byzantine), Bashisar (Seljuk), Burgat Kalesi (Ottoman) and finally Urgup, from shortly after the founding of the Turkish Republic.

Where to Visit in Urgup

Pembe Valley
The most stunning examples of the local landscape and the Fairy Chimneys can be seen along the route to Avanos. Many of these rock formations resemble animals, and the shapes of camels and rabbits can be seen.

KizilCukur
As a centre of grape and wine production, Kizilcukur, a couple of kilometers northwest of Urgup, contains churches cut into the strange rock formations and decorated with grape figures. The rocks are decorated in different colours, making it a spectacular sight at sunset.

Mustafapasa
Located 5km from Urgup, the small village of Mustafapasa has old stone houses with attractive carved facades dating back to the end of the 19th century, and a cluster of small churches. once known as Sinasos when it was a thriving Greek community before World War I, it makes an interesting trip from Urgup although is not easily accessible by public transport. Places of interest include a 19th century medrese, the Ayios Vasilios Church, and the Church of St. Constantine and Helena. There are several small guest-houses and restaurants.

Sarihan
Sarihan (Yellow Caravanserai), around 10km north of Urgup, was constructed by Seljuk Sultan Alaattin Keykubat in 1217. It has a huge courtyard with elaborate gateway, and was used for the loading of animals and a place for travelers break their journey. It is also a great example of Seljuk-Turkish architecture. The road was re-laid and the building restored in the late 1980s, and is now functioning as a museum and cultural centre with performances of dervish dancing in the summer. There is little public transport to Sarihan.

Halacdere
Engraved into the tuffs, these basilica-type churches were thought to have been used as hospital buildings by the Christians, and are now almost destroyed. Similar ones can be seen in Ortahisar, like St Peter and St Paul Churches, and the one near the Meskendir River.

Firatkan
On the road to the Goreme Open Air Museum, Firatkan is a small complex of churches. They have two storeys, consisting of a dormitory, dining hall, kitchen and storerooms, and the storeys are connected to each other through tunnels.

Ortahisar
This village, 3 km southeast of the Goreme Valley, is most famous for its 50m high rock-castle, which is visible from the main road. It is possible to climb the rock, which offers stunning views of the surrounding area. This attractive farming village also has examples of the monastery lifestyle, and is a strong cultural and commercial centre. Other places of interest in this area include Harim Church, Sanca Church and Cambazli Church.

Damsa Dam
Constructed on the Damsa River, the dam is 17 km from Urgup and used mainly for irrigation. It is now an attractive area for walks and picnics, on the shore of the Damsa Lake, surrounded by pine forests and offering good shade in the summer. It is a convenient place to stop en route to Mustafapasa, Taskinpasa and Soganli.

Urgup Museum

In the museum, which is opened on 1971, there are Prehistorical, Ancient Bronze Age, Hittite, Frig, Persia, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman period pieces of arts besides Urgup and environs acquired fossil samples. There is also an ethnographic section for regional clothes, furniture and guns within the museum.
Ruins of Urgup Museum are Mustafapasa (Sinasos) Aios Vasilios Church, Monastery Valley Churches, Yesiloz (Saint Theodor) Church and Pancarlik Church.

RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS

Saint Theodore (Tagar) Church
Around 15 km southeast of Urgup, the village of Yesiloz contains the famous T-shaped St Thoedore's Church. It is possible to access the gallery on the upper floor by a ladder, making it unique in Cappadocia. The church has been decorated by three artists, whose pictures are generally well preserved. Scenes depicted include the prophets, the disciples, Christ on the crucifix and the angels Gabriel and Michael.

Pancarlik Church
South of Ortahisar in the Pancarlik Valley, this church dates back to the first half of the 11th century. Its intricate religious paintings are predominantly green, and have generally been well preserved. They depict a vast range of biblical scenes, including Joseph's second dream, the escape to Egypt, the miracle of the water into wine, the loaves and fishes, the cure of a leper, Christ on the crucifix and later his resurrection.

Ala Church and Kepez Churches
These are considered important churches in the region, located on the road to Pancarkil. They have plain red decorations, and frescoes.

Balkan Churches
These form a small cluster, some 2 km from Ortahisar, and date back to the Ikolonazma period.

Taskinpasa Mosque
In the centre of the village of Damsa, 20 km south of Urgup, Taskinpasa mosque dates back to the Karamanlilar period. Its balcony is made of walnut ornamental inlaying, which is the only remaining one of its kind. The Taskinpasa Tomb, belonging to Hizir Reis, is opposite the mosque and belongs to the same period.


CASTLES

Kadi Castle
This rock-castle was a place of refuge for women and children during times of danger. A tunnel opened to the Damsa River, constructed for the purpose. Most of the building has since collapsed mainly due to erosion, but the undamaged section is open to visitors.


TOMBS

Temenni (Mausoleum )
This monumental Selcuk tomb, constructed by Vecihi Pasa and dedicated to Kilicarslan IV, dates back to 1288. Perched on Kadi Kalesi, the most peculiar feature of the tomb is the 700m tunnel, of which the original purpose is unclear. It has an Ottoman library, one of the oldest in Anatolia, with photographs of pre-1923 Urgup. Visitors are allowed to walk through the corridor that leads to the point of a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.
Opening hours: 08:30 - 18:00, daily.