One of the most important centres in Cappadocia is Urgup, 20km to the east of Nevsehir.  Urgup was an important settlement in the Seljuk period, when it was called “Bashisar”.  The marble fountains and inscriptions found on the streets and in the squares of Urgup, were ordered by Damat Ibrahim Pasha. The epitaphs on the fountains were written by various poets, and carved by prominent stone masons of Istanbul. Records from the 19th century mention 70 mosques, 5 churches and 11 libraries in Urgup.

Examples of Seljuk and Ottoman architecture in Urgup are the “Alti Kapili Turbe” (tomb with 6 doors), the Kiliçarslan tomb, the Taskin Pasa Medrese, and the mosque and tomb in Taskinpasa village. 

The nearby valleys of Pancarlik, Uzengi and Keslik, are important historical and natural treasures.

  Goreme, situated 10 km from Nevsehir, is found in the area surrounded with valleys, within the Nevsehir-Ürgüp-Avanos triangle. The old names for Goreme are Korama, Matiana, Maccan and Avcilar. Since Goreme was referred as Korama in the earliest written document known from the 6th century, it is thought that that is the oldest name given to the place. In that document,  it is said that St. Hieron was born in Korama at the end of the 3rd century, was martyred in Melitene (modern Malatya) with his 30 friends and his hand was cut off and sent to his mother in Korama. A very big depiction of St. Hieron of Korama is found in the Tokali (Buckle) Church in Goreme Open Air Museum. 

  It is believed that Goreme and its surroundings were used as a necropolis by the people of Vanessa (Avanos) in the Roman Periods. Both the monumental twin pillared Roman tomb hollowed out into a fairy chimney in the centre of Goreme and the presence of numerous tombs in the vicinity support that idea.

  Goreme, an important Christian centre in the early years of the Middle Ages, was a bishopric administered by Mokissos near Aksaray in the 11th and 13th centuries. Despite the vast number of monasteries, churches and chapels in the vicinity of Goreme, there are not many inscriptions bearing dates. For this reason, these religious buildings are mainly dated according to the iconography or architectural features.

By the end of the 2nd century a large Christian community had formed in Cappadocia.  It is known that there were two bishoprics at that time; one in Kayseri, which, for a long time, continued to be a Christian centre in the region and the other in Malatya.

In the 3rd century, priests with good character changed the region into a lively centre of Christian activity. In the 4th century Cappadocia became known as the land of the three saints; St. Basil the Great, Bishop of Kayseri; his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. George of Nazianzus.  These three men created a new unity in Christian thought, and many of St. Basil’s thoughts and actions are still important today.  An example of his doctrine is the advice to Christian with one piece of bread in a famine.  He said that the Christians should give half of the bread to a fellow believer and trust in God to take care of him. St. Basil founded small, secluded settlements not too far away from villages and towns. Daily worship was carried out under the supervision of a preacher. These groups were not; however, privileged groups separated from the community like similar communities in Egypt and Syria. St. Basil is important in that he introduced worship within the community.  He was not at all bigoted.

Goreme Open Air Museum is the place where this kind of religious education was started. The same model was then introduced in Soganli, Ihlara and Açiksaray.

Nevsehir ancient name was “Nyssa”, but in the Ottoman period it was renamed “Muskara”.  The son in law of Sultan Ahmet III, the Ottoman Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha was born in Nevsehir and therefore took a great interest in its construction. The small village with 18 houses, once under the administration of Ürgüp, was transformed with the building of mosques, fountains, schools, soup kitchens, inns and bath houses, and its name was changed from Muskara to Nevsehir, which means New City

Damat Ibrahim Pasha Kulliyesi
Kursunlu mosque, situated in the Damat IIbrahim Pasha complex, was completed in 1726. The mosque, which is situated in the centre of a court with three gates, has an elegant minaret 44m in height.  The name” Kursunlu” comes from the sheets of lead covering the main dome. Most of the internal decorations consist of floral motifs. A Madrasah, library, soup kitchen and a bath house are contained in the same complex.

The citadel found on the highest point of the city was constructed in the Seljuk Period to defend and protect the caravan trails.

 The Museum of Nevsehir

 Nevsehir Museum was opened to public in the medrese building, a part of the complex of Damat Ibrahim Pasha Kulliye in 1967 and was moved to its present location, the Cultural Centre, in 1987.

The objects are displayed in two sections; archaeological and ethnographic. The artefacts in the archaeological section are from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages and from the Phrygian, Urartian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine civilizations. In addition to these, pieces from Iran, Mesopotamia and Cyprus are also on display. In the ethnographic section, oil lamps, written works, weapons, local garments, handicraft, carpets and kilims belonging to the Ottoman Period and the early years of the Turkish Republic can be seen.

Everybody wants fly like a bird everytime. That is a big dream of human. Now you can realize your own dream with cappadocia balloon tour. Don’t omit join to balloon tour if you planning to go to cappadocia. You can see the deep canyons, valleys and fairy chimneys from the air Cappadocia balloon tour begins every day at sunrise. Balloon tour takes almost an hour but if you want to join deluxe balloon tour it takes 1.30 hour. There are so many balloon tour company in cappadocia area, you can choose one of them. You can take your own flight certificate after tour. Comfortable clothes and shoes are recommended.

Don’t forget your own camera, because you can take the best photos of the world during that journey.

Have a nice journey.. I am sure that you will be enjoy in cappadocia and balloon tour.

Cappadocia area on the Turkey map

Cappadocia area on the Europa map

Let’s start to Cappadocia tour. The region known in ancient times as Cappadocia is the setting for some of nature’s most bizarre wonders. It incorporates the provinces of Aksaray, Nevsehir, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir. For most people the name Cappadocia suggest the towns and vicinities of Uchisar, Goreme, Avanos, Urgup, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Ihlara where in the course of millions of years, the land has been shaped into fantastic forms. “Fairy Chimneys” that seem haunted, and cities and houses of workship that extend many meters deep into the earth are all enveloped in an atmosphere that is ethereal and unworldly. Get ready now to take a brief journey into the Cappadocian region, where Mother Nature painstakinly worked miracles that defy the imagination and where the living elements of history, culture, art, and society are inextricably linked. Millions of years ago three of the mountains in Cappadocia - Erciyes, Hasandag and Gulludag - were active volcanoes; indeed, this activity persisted intermittently at least into the Neolitic period if one considers the evidence of prehistoric paintings found on the walls of caves.
The eruptions appear to have begun in the Upper Miocene, less than 70 million years ago, in which lava began to flow from volcanoes submerged in Neogene lakes. The plateau of tuff formed from the materials discharged by the main volcanoes was continuously altered by the eruptions of smaller and less violent volcanoes.
From the Upper Pliocene onwards, these layers of tuff were exposed to eresion by rain and the waters of lakes and rivers, paticularly the Kizilirmak, resulting in what we see today. Foodwater pouring down the sides of valleys combined with strong winds tore away the softer volcanic rock exposing the harder variaties and resulting in the formations known an “fairy chimneys” of which there are several types in Cappadocia - conical pointed, columnar, mushroom-shaped and even a type that looks as if it’s wearing a hat.
The Cappadocian region has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The evidence of this is plentiful, but the best examples of it have been unearthed at Kosk Hoyuk in Nigde and Asikli Hoyuk in Aksaray as well as in the Civeler cave in Nevsehir. During the Early Bronze Age, Cappadocia came under the influance af Assyrian civilization thanks to extensive trade, and it was during this period that writing was introduced. Researchers have turned up hoards of so - called “Cappadocian Tablets” - clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing whose texts speak of tax regulations interest rates, marriage contracts, trade disputes, and much else besides. The Hattis followed by the Hitites, Phrygians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottoman were all enchanted by the allure of Cappadocia and left the imprint of their own presence here.
Because of its location, Cappadocia was an extremely critical and strategic region. Important trade routes - including the illustrious Silk Road - traversed it both east and west and north and south. As a result of this heavy traffic, the region was a complex web of historical and cultural influences. Cappadocia was where different faiths and philosophies met and influenced one another.
Cappadocia’s trade and resources were tempting prizes and the region was frequently ivaded, raided and looted. To protect themselves from such depredations, the local inhabitants took to living in the region’s caverns and grottos whose entrances could be concealed so as not to be noticed by trouble making outsiders. Since it might be necessary to lie low for extented periods of time, these troglodytic dwellings eventually became subterranean cities that included sources of water, places to store food, wineries and temples. Some of them date back to before the Christian era.
In the early years of the first millennium, groups of Christians fleeing from Roman persecution began moving into the inaccessible wilds of Cappadocia seeking refuge. One group, which arrived here from Jerusalem via Antioch and Caesarea in the second century, settled down in the area now called Derinkuyu. Finding the soft volcanic tuff easy to carve, they began expanding the natural caves, linking them together and in addition to dwellings, creating chapels, churches and whole monastereies as they shaped with their hearts, minds and hands the peace and security that they so desperately sought.
There are said to be more than a thousand churches and chapels in Cappadocia. The variety and artistry of their architecture, layout and decoration are fascinating and amazing. The whole panoply of religious architecture - basilicas with single, double or triple naves, cruciform plans, vestibules, asisles, apses, domes, columns, pillars, and more - can be found in these churches and all of it has been hollowed out of the stone. Many of the churches are decorated with painstakingly executed frescoes. The monumental task of restoring, repairing and maintaining these churches and underground cities goes on continuously even while they receive thousands of visitors a year.
Don’t forget to go to Ihlara valley on Cappadocia Tour. In the province of Nigde, frescoed churches and dwellings carved into the cliffs extend from Ihlara walley which is 40 km from Aksaray, as far as the town of Selime. Some of these structures can be dated back to as early as the 4th century. Among the many sights worth seeing are the Egritas, Agacalti, Kokar, Yilanli, Purenli and Sivisli churches.
The splendid scene of the town of Uchisar, seven kilometers from Nevsehir, has an appeal that is irresistible. From the heights of the Uchisar citadel, you have a magnificent and unrivalled view of the whole region.
We arrive at the “belief centers”, where the air thick with an enigmatic nimbus. Goreme and its environs, located ten kilometers from Nevsehir, are thought to have been used as a necropolis during Roman times by the inhabitants of Venessa (Avanos). The churches of Durmus kadir, Yusuf Koc, El Nazar, Sakli, Meryem Ana and Kiliclar cast a spellbinding effect upon visitors. The Goreme open air museum is where the “educational system that unified all the ideas of Christianity” of St Basil the great and his brothers was born. In the Tokali Church, the Convent of Monks and Nuns, the Elmali, Yilanli, Karanlik and Carikli churches the architectural details and frescoes seem as alive today as when they were new.
Cavusin, located two kilometers from Goreme, is one of the oldest inhabited places in the region. The fresco scenes in the Cavusin church are distinctive because of their unusual compositions.
Kilise, Pasabaglari and the Cell of St Simeon are among the most impressive sites at Zelve.
In Urgup, 20 kilometers east of Nevsehir, the St Theodora and Pancarlik churches are elaborately decorated with religious art.
In the town of Ortahisar, six kilometers from Urgup, the most impressive sight is the once strategically important Ortahisar citadel. Fine examples of Cappadocia’s vernacular architecture cluster thickly around the base of the citadel. Also, worth seeing is the Uzumlu church, on the western side.
Six kilometers south of Urgup is Mustafapasa (Sinasos) a town justifiably famous for its splendid stone works. The Chapel of St Basil is decorated with motifs reflecting the Iconoclastic system of thought.
The town of tatlarin is located ten kilometers north of Acigol. The tatlarin church is graced with well preserved frescoes.
Twenty kilometers from Nevsehir are the Aciksaray ruins and the Church of St John in the town of Gulsehir.
The karabas, Kubbeli and St Barbara (tahtali Kilise) churches located in Soganli Valley in Kayseri province’s Yesilhisar county are paticularly important because of their architectural styles and their detailed fresco scenes.
The Eski Gumus church located in the town of Gumusler, eight kilometers northeast of Nigde, is a cliff monastery church and is decorated with fresco scenes that are extremely detailed and delicately executed. In addition to this, the underground cities of Kavlaktepe, Fertek, Konakli, Baglama, Kayirli, yesiltepe and Aktas Andabalis churches are sites worth visiting that are of great importance to Christians. Ancient city of Tyana (Roman period) is worth seeing.
Built into the Ucayak, derefakili, Aflak and Aksakli caves in Kirsehir province are historic places of worship that are important for Christianity.
Mention has already been made of the cappadocia region’s “underground cities” places that are as amazing as they are fascinating. There are many of them but the most extraordinary are the ones at Kaymakli, Derinkuyu, Mazi, Ozkonak and Tatlarin. In Kirsehir province, the underground cities of Mucur, Dulkadirli, Inlimurat and Kumbetalti are also quite impressive in their extent and layout. These were all used as shelters for great lengths of time and having undergone restoration work, they are now open to visitors.

Certainly the most interesting features of the Cappadocia area are the underground cities founded within. Until now even that have been determined about 40 underground cities just six of these have been opened for visit. The first inhabitants of Cappadocia area have opened deep cavities within the volcanic rocks due to escape from the attacks of the wild animals and hard winter conditions and then they have enlarged these cavities according to their daily needs, they opened new cavities and created the underground cities connecting these cavities with tunnel and labyrinths. Later the underground cities were the place of the hiding of the first Christians who escaped from the persecution of the Roman soldiers and were enlarged to able when were necessary an entire city to live and every kind of fixture necessary for the living of the people has been attached. When there wasn’t any danger the people living on the ground in case of the danger have hidden in the underground cities. For this reason all the homes at that time were connected to the underground cities with a tunnel.

Tatlarin Underground City

In all of the underground cities there are ventilation chimneys reaching place by place to a depth of 80 and until the underground waters. These chimneys were opened due to meet the need of both the ventilation and water. Within the cities that are tepid in winters and cool in summers there are kitchens, cribs, wine houses, depots for cereals, meeting saloons, toilets shortly every kind of living space necessary for living. Within all the cities there are locking stones which can be opened and closed only from inside against to the threats which may come from outside.

The oldest written source about underground cities is the Anabasis named book of Xenophon (B.C. 4). In the book is mentioned that the people living in Anatolia have caved their houses underground and that the houses are connected to each other with holes.

It is on the Nevsehir-Göreme roadway. There is not known the period of the commencement of the oldest settlement at Uçhisar which is situated in the highest point of the region. The hill of the castle of Uçhisar is the panoramic watching point. The many rooms, steps, tunnel and galleries inside the castle are connected to each other. At the entrance of the rooms there are sliding stones used to control the accesses and exits. On the chimney rock and outskirts of the castle and around there has been constructed many dovecotes. The doves were used in communication with the other settlement regions.

Ortahisar is situated on Nevsehir Ürgüp roadway far with 6 km from Ürgüp. Its most pronounced structure is the Castle of Ortahisar situated at a 86 m height cave in the period of Eti. The castle has been used strategically and for accommodation. At the outskirts of the castle there are available the samples of the civil architecture characteristic to Cappadocia. Furthermore in the stores of the rocks cave in almost the entire valley there are stored the agricultural products grown in the zone. It is an attractive town with its natural beauty and historical features. The valley contending the Kavak, Ibrahim Pasa and Ortahisar regions is reaching to the Valley of Damsa Rivers. The places near to the Damsa River of this valley are named Üzengi River. It is a place with natural features as mineral water. In the middle of Ortahisar there is a castle as a huge chimney rock. The foreign peoples also call this castle as Chateau. The inside parts are caved. It has got the rooms and saloons. Moreover around the town there are many churches. In Ortahisar the housed are raise step by step to the castle. The natural beauties, the old historic structures and the interesting citrus gardens near to the Göreme rock stones provide that the tourist to be attracted here. In the valley of Ortahisar there are very interesting abbeys and churches. These are Sarica Church, Cambazli Church, Tavsanli Church, Balkan Rive Churches, Hallac River Abbey. The Ethnography Museum where the life of Cappadocia is described has been opened at Ortahisar.