Damad İbrahim Paşa’s “New Town” Population: 124,000
Market day: Monday
Old name: Muşkara
Nevşehir may be the provincial capital of Cappadocia, a region renowned for its natural beauty, but there’s scant sign of that in the town itself. Indeed, arguably this is one of Turkey’s ugliest cities, with the authorities seemingly intent on pulling down every last old building in favour of high-rise concrete apartment blocks. Still, if you need to spend a few hours here there are just about enough sights to fill in the time.
In 2013 all the houses immediately beneath the castle were demolished, exposing a network of cave rooms that the locals had been using for storage. Immediately dubbed the Kayaşehir (Rock City) – and erroneously described as another underground city – this forced a rethink of development plans for the hillside.
Around town
The most obvious starting point for exploring Nevşehir is the castle that overlooks it even though it consists of little more than a rebuilt outer wall. The view is dramatic if not especially beautiful. On the slopes leading down to it it’s now possible to explore the Kayaşehir cave rooms exposed by the demolition of the houses that used to conceal them. A rock-cut church probably dedicated to St Antipas and probably built in the early 13th century has been uncovered but is not currently accessible to visitors who can, on the other hand, peer into a strange room which must once have had a cross on the rear wall but whose precise purpose remains a mystery.
On the hillside it’s also possible to admire the wedding cake bell tower of what was until the 1924 population exchange the Greek Orthodox Church of Koimesos Theotokou (Mother Mary).
In the town centre the main attraction is the Damad İbrahim Paşa (Kurşunlu) mosque complex, built in 1727 for the grand vizier İbrahim Paşa who was also the son-in-law of Sultan Ahmed III (1713-30) and responsible for many of the grand Tulip Age parties held in İstanbul’s Topkapı Palace. An enthusiastic builder, İbrahim endowed İstanbul with many fine monuments including one incarnation of Kızkulesi (the Maiden’s Tower) so it’s hardly surprising that he also bestowed this fine complex on the new town he had created on the site of his birthplace, Muşkara.
The complex consists of a mosque standing on a terrace together with a sebyan mektep (primary schoolhouse) now used as a library and an imaret (soup kitchen) now used as offices. Excavations beneath the terrace brought to light a kervansaray (caravanserai) attached to the mosque. Its hamam is still in use (Saturday afternoons for women).
Not far from the mosque in the Cumhuriyet Mahallesi the Church of Hagios Giorgios (St George), built in 1849, served the Greek Orthodox community until 1924. Between 1950 and 1983 it served as a prison which housed the likes of film-maker, Yılmaz Güney, and novelist, Kemal Tahir. Now restoration has removed all evidence of the prison dormitorie s to reveal once again some of the 19th-century frescoes.
Finally Nevşehir’s rather good museum (closed Mondays) stands ignored behind a statue of Damad İbrahim Paşa by Hakkı Atamulu on the road heading out towards Avanos just before Migros. The downstairs section exhibits local archaeological finds, the upstairs local ethnographical items. Look in particular for a print at the back that shows what Nevşehir looked like before its fine stone houses were all demolished in the late 20th century. 
Reminder of Cappadocia’s lost Greek (Rum) population in Nevşehir Museum
Sleeping
Dedeman Cappadocia Hotel. Tel: 0384-213 9900,
Lykia Lodge Kapadokya. Tel: 0384-213 9945
Hotel Altınöz. Tel: 0384-213 9961
Transport info
Nevşehir airport (NAV) is at Tuzköy, 30km northwest of town and served by pre-bookable shuttle buses to Nevşehir and the surrounding villages.
Nevşehir is the main transport hub for Cappadocia although fewer buses serve it than you might expect: three or four a day from Ankara, two or three from Adana and Konya. There are hourly buses from Kayseri during the main part of the day.
The bus station is beyond the city limits – most bus services are linked to the centre and the surrounding villages by servis buses but don’t risk getting stuck there since a taxi to town will cost a fortune.
Local transport to the villages mainly departs from the Meteris Kavşağı (junction) in the town centre – local bus drivers know it well.
Plans for a high-speed train service linking Nevşehir to Kayseri, Konya and Antalya are on the drawing board.
Day trip destinations
Göre
Beautiful 19th-century bell tower survived 2012 demolition of Kale Mahallesi
Lovely fountain that forms part of Damad İbrahim Paşa mosque complex
