Understand
[edit]Volcanic eruptions between 9 and 3 million years ago laid a thick deposit of tuff or ignimbrite ash across Cappadocia. This is easily eroded, and where it outcrops at the edge of plateaux, it creates hoodoos or "fairy chimneys", weird towers. But all over the region, people found it more convenient to scrape out dwellings from the soft rock than to erect masonry, and these were easier to defend or hide away in. Underground cities have been found in 40 sites across Cappadocia, and more keep being discovered, to the dismay of anyone trying to refurbish their basement. They've been inhabited since 800 BC, Phrygian times, but were greatly expanded from hidey-holes into entire cities from 100 to 800 AD. Their inscriptions show the inhabitants were Christian, so the Romans get the blame for persecution, but the worst attacks came later at the hands of Arabs, Seljuks and Ottomans, which doesn't suit the Turkish narrative. Some were inhabited right into the 20th century.
Climate is semi-arid continental. Nevşehir stands at 1224 m / 4016 ft elevation, with thunderstorms April to mid-June, hot dry summers, and cold and snowy winters. See Cappadocia for a climate chart.
Get in
[edit]
By plane
[edit]1 Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV IATA), Tuzköyü, ☏ +90 384 421 4455. Flights from Istanbul take 90 min - by Turkish Airlines from IST and Ajet from SAW, with as many as 7 a day at the height of the tourist season. Change in Istanbul for all other destinations. The airport is small but adequate for its passenger numbers, and has car hire. 
To town: Nevşehir is 30 km south of the airport, take a taxi / transfer. Most arrivals are heading for Göreme at the heart of the "fairy chimney" landscape.
By bus
[edit]Buses from Istanbul run every couple of hours round the clock, taking 10 hours via Bolu. From Ankara they're hourly, with the fastest taking 3 hours non-stop. From Kayseri they're hourly, taking 90 min via Avanos. Three per day run from Izmir, taking 12 hours via Uşak, Afyonkarahisar and Konya. Three per day from Antalya take 8 hours via Konya.
Bus lines on these routes are Metro Turizm, Flixbus and Nevşehir Seyahat.
2 Nevşehir Otobüs Terminali the inter-city station is 5 km southwest of town on D300 towards Aksaray and Konya. It's grubby, with few facilities, eg no ATM. Your dolmuş ride downtown should be included in your bus fare, check when buying.
3 Saatci Hoca Cd is the street where the dolmuş from the bus terminal brings you. It's also the pick-up / drop-off point for local buses and dolmuşes from nearby towns such as Aksaray, Avanos, Göreme, Kaymakli, Derinkuyu, Urgup and Nigde. No focal point to it or information, you'll have to ask around to find your service.
By road
[edit]From Ankara take O-21 (toll) to the junction of D300 then head east; reckon 290 km, 3 hours. You can avoid the toll by taking D200 onto D765, maybe 3 hr 40 min.
Get around
[edit]Nevşehir sprawls, but the sights within town can be explored on foot.
You need wheels to reach the outlying underground cities. Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu are substantial villages along D765 to Niğde, so there should be a dolmuş running every 15 minutes.
See
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- 1 Nevşehir Castle. Daily 08:00-00:00. Hilltop citadel built by the Seljuks around 1100 AD, probably over an older Roman / Byzantine bastion. It's just a curtain wall around a courtyard, but has good views of the city. Free.
- Kayaşehir[dead link] ("Rock City") is a great labyrinth of underground chambers on castle hill, most exposed on the east slope and accessed by boardwalks from Kaya Mosque, but probably right around in areas not yet excavated. The earliest remains are 6th century AD, and it was inhabited into modern times; its extent was only realised in 2015 when a ramshackle shanty town was cleared from the hill.
- 2 Kurşunlu Mosque is the centrepiece of Damat İbrahim Paşa complex, which also contains a library and hammam. Such complexes (külliyesi) typically also had a hospital and soup kitchen, but these have not survived. Damat İbrahim Paşa (1662-1730) was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire until murdered by a mob - Sultan Ahmed III handed him over to save himself.
- 3 Nevşehir Museum, Turbe Sk 1, ☏ +90 384 213 1447. Closed. Depicts archeological, historic and ethnographic life of the region. It's closed for reconstruction.
- 4 Nar is an old town quarter of higgledy-piggledy streets. There's probably another underground city below which it's not feasible to excavate, but property owners have created small hotels and restaurants in the cellars.
Further out
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- The best underground cities to visit are Kaymakli and Derinkuyu south of Nevşehir.
- 5 Kaymaklı (20 km south of Nevşehir). Daily Apr–Oct 08:00–19:00, Nov–Mar 08:00–17:00. This has 4 underground floors open to visitors: the second level had a church, the third was the main living space, and the fourth had storage and metal-working shops. Tunnels even linked the city to Derinkuyu. Adult 500 TL.
- 6 Derinkuyu (15 km south of Kaymaklı), ☏ +90 384 381 3194. Apr-Oct 08:00-19:00, Nov-Mar 08:00-17:00. Largest known underground city in Turkey, accommodating 20,000 people with an array of living, working and other spaces going down five levels. It was only discovered in 1963. Adult 500 TL.
- 7 Mazı (10 km east of Kaymaklı). Daily 08:00-17:00. Smaller than the better known underground cities, but still a substantial complex, with few tourists. Four access tunnels converge on a central hall. Adult 100 TL.
- 8 Özkonak (14 km northeast of Avanos), ☏ +90 554 5411401. Apr–Oct 08:00–19:00, Nov–Mar 08:00–17:00. Features only one underground floor, although it covers a large area. 130 TL, 5 TL parking.
Do
[edit]- Hamams - traditional Turkish baths - are within the Damati Ibrahim Pasa complex, open daily 07:00-23:00.
- Lunapark children's amusement park in town centre remains closed.
Buy
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- Supermarkets: lots of stores downtown, usually open daily 09:00-21:00. Şok, Bim and A101 are the main chains.
Eat
[edit]- Lots of small places along the main east-west street Atatürk Blv near its intersection with Lale Cd running north-south.
Drink
[edit]- Cafes and restaurants serve alcohol, no stand-alone bars.
- Local wine: Cappadocia mostly makes red wine.
Sleep
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- 1 Hotel Altınöz, İstiklal Cd 23, ☏ +90 384 213 9961, [email protected]. Spacious rooms, fittings a bit old and worn.
- Hotel Business Han, Saatçi Hoca Cd 11 (by downtown dolmuş stops), ☏ +90 533 140 6464. Clean efficient place. B&B double 2500 TL.
- 2 Crowne Plaza, Milli Irade Cd 2, ☏ +90 384 228 5000. Smart modern chain in a tower above Nissara shopping centre. Some find themselves in smaller rooms than they booked. B&B double 3000 TL.
- 3 Hotel Şems, Atatürk Blv 27, ☏ +90 384 213 3597. Fairly basic. B&B double 1200 TL.
- Nigrum Hotel nearby at Atatürk Blv 37 has similar prices and quality.
- Nar has over a dozen small places called "cave hotels", cellars more like.
- 4 Monark Hotel, Ürgüp Cd 72, ☏ +90 544 341 9500. Tatty but comfy enough. East edge of town, you need your own transport. B&B double 1800 TL.
- See Uçhisar for accommodation further east.
Connect
[edit]Nevşehir and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of July 2024, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.
Go next
[edit]- Göreme and Ürgüp have the best of the hoodoo or "fairy chimney" scenery, so they're touristy.
- Avanos on the banks of the Kizilirmak river and Ortahisar by contrast have few visitors.
- Uçhisar castle is formidable rather than scenic but commands great views.
- Hacıbektaş 45 km north has the shrine of Hacı Bektaş Veli, a 13th century Sufi saint, with a commemoration held in August.
| Routes through Nevşehir |
| Konya ← Aksaray ← | W  E
|
→   (S) → Kayseri
|
| END ← | W  E
|
→ Uçhisar → Ends at  (W  E)
|
| Kastamonu ← Hacıbektaş ← | N  S
|
→ Derinkuyu → Niğde |