|
 Gülşehir
is a lovely town, once inhabited by the Hittites and the Romans, known as
Zoropassos during the Persian epoch and Arapsun before the Ottoman
conquest, the town flourished under the patronage of Seyit Mehmet Paşa,
better known as Kara Vezir (Black Vizier), who was born in Gülşehir and
became a minister of state in İstanbul.
The most outstanding
historical monument in the town is the Külliye built by Kara Vezir Paşa
in 1779 in the Ottoman Baroque style. It consists of a mosque, a medrese
and fountain.
ÇAT VALLEY
Çat, to the north-east of Nevşehir,
is another valley famous for its rock-cut caves and stone houses which
were built in the last century.
AÇIKSARAY
15 km outside Nevşehir, on
the Nevşehir-Gülşehir road (route 765), you will come across a deserted
cave-village with rock-cut dwellings and chapels, to which the local
inhabitants have quite recently given the name Açıksaray (Open Palace).
The village is remarkable for its facades and the weird-looking
formations, some resembling huge mushrooms, trees, even human faces.
This small settlement can be
dated back to the 10th or 11th centuries. It covers an area of one square
kilometer and contains eight complexes gathered around three-sided
courtyards, each with a decorated main facade.
The first complex on the right
when you enter Açıksaray from the Nevşehir-Gülşehir road has an
elaborate facade one of the best in Cappadocia. The complex has two
irregular rooms and one rectangular, in which a large equal-armed cross is
carved on the interior wall above the entrance. Their heads are lost,
because a window-like opening has been cut on the wall. The motif of the
bull, which is regarded as sacred by the Neolithic communities in Anatolia
and the Hittites, can only be seen in Açıksaray.
THE CHURCH OF St. JOHN (Karşı
Kilise)
The Church of St. John is at
the time of writing being restored, with beautiful frescoes appearing as
its blackened walls are cleaned. Check with Nevşehir tourist information
office to find out whether the church has yet been opened to visitors.
HACI BEKTAŞ
ÖZKONAK
The underground city was
discovered in 1972 by muezzin Latif Acar, who was trying to find out where
the water disappeared to when he watered his crops. He discovered an
underground room which, later excavation revealed, belonged to a city with
ten floors up to a depth of 40m. At present only four floors are open (up
to 15m), but throughout the village can be seen parts of rooms belonging
to the first and second levels. These first two levels were used for food
storage and wine fermentation, and a press and reservoir are labelled, as
are mangers for stabled animals. Another typical feature is the stone
doors, moved by wooden levers; above them was a small hole, through which
boiling oil would have been poured on an enemy trying to break the soft
sand-stone door.
BELHA
Belha monastery is a religious
center built around a courtyard in the 6th century. The complex comprises
a refectory, a cellar, a kitchen, bedrooms, a large meeting hall, burial
chambers, a church and rooms for monks. |
