“Thin Water” Population: 29,000
Old name: Sadogora/Sadacora (?)
Market days: Thursday, Friday
İncesu stands at the start of the road that used to run from Kayseri to Ürgüp – and still does in a way except that these days it’s poorly maintained since most people opt to use the speedier new road that bypasses the town. In Turkish terms it is a New Town, founded in 1667 by the grand vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa (1634-83) who was executed after leading his troops to defeat at Vienna in 1683.
Despite the fact that the approach to the town has been disfigured by huge TOKİ tower blocks that look completely out of place here, the town is worth visiting for a handful of Ottoman monuments and for its pretty stone houses, many of them now deserted. In 2021 archaeologists uncovered what is believed to have been the largest Roman mosaic ever found in Turkey in İncesu. Work at the site is ongoing but hopefully it will open to the public in due course.
Around town
İncesu’s most conspicuous monument is the vast Kara Mustafa Paşa Kervansarayı that once formed part of a huge complex together with a mosque, hamam and bazaar. It was commissioned by Kara Mustafa Paşa and could at one time accommodate around a thousand travellers and their animals.
The caravanserai has been restored although on my most recent visit in 2015 the gate was locked. The shops in the arches of the covered bazaar are boarded up but the mosque is still in use. A bust of Kara Mustafa Paşa now stands in front of the entrance to the caravanserai. 
Also worth seeking out is the sturdy 19th-century church, now derelict although its frescoes of saints are still just about discernible. Strangely, the church used to open onto a wall of rock carved with consecration crosses. Its narthex is now partly bricked up.
The back streets around the church are full of fine rusty-brown stone houses, some of them with red and black striped entrances and heavy corbels to support their balconies. Many are for sale as their inhabitants yearn to move into modern apartment blocks. Some are built into the rockface or perch precariously on top of rocks overlooking lush green fields on the road heading out to Ürgüp.
Sleeping
Most visitors will want to visit İncesu from Kayseri which has a great choice of hotels although you can also visit on a drive from Cappadocia which has an even better choice of places to stay.
Transport info
There are regular buses (350/351) throughout the day between İncesu and Kayseri (35km). The run takes about an hour.
