Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 82,110. It is from the capital

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and lies within the historical region of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

. The town lies at an elevation of and has a continental climate, with heavy snow in winter and great heat in summer. Although Nevşehir is close to the underground cities, fairy chimneys,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

s and rock-hewn churches of

, and has a few hotels, the modern town is not itself a tourist centre. In 2015 a huge underground city was discovered underneath its centre following demolition works intended to clear the central hillside of ramshackle modern housing. Founded in 2007, Nevşehir University was renamed

Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University (), commonly referred to as Nevşehir University, is a public institute of higher education established in 2007 located in Nevşehir, Turkey. Affiliations The university is a member of the Caucasus Unive ...

in 2013. Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) is 30 kilometres northwest of the town.The inter-city bus station is about 6 km southwest of the city centre. Two planned high-speed rail services should eventually link Nevşehir to

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasina ...

and

History

Göreme OpenAir Museum Dunkle Kirche 1 11 2004

Prehistory and ancient history

The

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

first founded the settlement of Nissa on the slopes of Mount Kahveci in the valley of Kızılırmak (the ancient Halys). This town, along with the region, came under the rule of the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n Empire around the 8th century BC, and was subsequently ruled by the

Medes The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

and then by the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ns during the reign of emperor

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

in 546 BC. In 333 BC,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

defeated the Persians and after his death, the surrounding area came under the rule of the dynasty of Ariarathes with Mazaka (present-day

) as its capital. The Cappadocian kingdom became a province- of the Roman empire in the reign of Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

Medieval history

The so-called underground cities found around Nevşehir may originally have been built to escape persecution by the pagan

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

authorities although others believe they date back to Hittite times. Many of the churches, hewn in the rocks, date from these early years of Christianity. Even when

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

made Christianity the official religion of the empire, the caves offered protection for the local people during raids by the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

Persians circa AD 604 and by the Islamic Caliphate from AD 647 onwards. When

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...

became state policy in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

empire, again the caves around Nevşehir became shelters for those escaping persecution. The castle on the hill in the middle of Nevşehir dates from the Byzantine period, when the region was on the frontline in the (holy) wars against the Islamic Caliphate. At the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and ...

(present-day Malazgirt) in AD 1071, the Byzantine emperor

Romanos IV Romanos IV Diogenes ( Greek: Ρωμανός Διογένης), Latinized as Romanus IV Diogenes, was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, was crowned Byzantine ...

was defeated by the Seljuk Sultan

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his ...

which led to the occupation of Anatolia by the Seljuks by 1074. Along with the rest of the region, Nevşehir became part of the

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254) Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

, then fell under the rule of the Karamanid dynasty in 1328 and finally under Ottoman rule around 1487 AD when it was renamed Muşkara. It remained relatively insignificant until the early 18th century.

Modern history

The present-day city owes its foundation in the so-called Tulip Age to the

grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

and son-in-law of the Sultan

Ahmed III Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at ...

, Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Pasha who was born in Muşkara and later took a great interest in its expansion. The small village with only 18 houses, formerly under the administration of the

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

Ürgüp Ürgüp ( el, Προκόπιο ''Prokópio,'' or Cappadocian Greek: ''Prokópi'', ota, Burgut Kalesi) is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Cappadocia, a ...

, was rapidly transformed with the building of mosques (the Kurṣunlu Mosque), fountains, schools, soup kitchens, inns and bath houses, and its name was changed from Muşkara to "Nevşehir" (meaning ''New City'' in Persian and

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

). In 1730 the grand vizier was assassinated by rebels in İstanbul but by then Nevşehir was firmly established as a town. The present-day city owes its foundation in the so-called Tulip Age to the

and son-in-law of the Sultan

, Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Pasha who was born in Muşkara and later took a great interest in its expansion. The small village with only 18 houses, formerly under the administration of the

, was rapidly transformed with the building of mosques (the :c:, Kurṣunlu Mosque), fountains, schools, soup kitchens, inns and bath houses, and its name was changed from Muşkara to "Nevşehir" (meaning ''New City'' in Persian and

). In 1730 the grand vizier was assassinated by rebels in İstanbul but by then Nevşehir was firmly established as a town. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the kaza of Nevşehir had a total population of 39,822, consisting of 30,370 Muslims, 8,918 Ottoman Greeks, Greeks, 477 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenians, 36 Catholic Church, Catholics and 21

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Under the terms of the

Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations The Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations, also known as the Lausanne Convention, was an agreement between the Greek and Turkish governments signed by their representatives in Lausanne on 30 January 1923, in the aft ...

in 1923, the Turkish speaking

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

community ( Karamanlis) of Nevşehir was exchanged for Muslims from Osheni, Shak and Revani villages of Kesriye (today's Οινόη, Κομνηνάδες and Διποταμία villages of Kastoria, Western Macedonia, Greece). NevsehirKalesi

Economy

The economy of Nevşehir is largely characterized by agriculture as well as tourism.Activities in Nevşehir
/ref> Nissara

Gallery

File:Nevsehir Kale june 2017 3540.jpg, Nevşehir Castle from exterior File:Nevsehir Kale june 2017 3535.jpg, Interior of Nevsehir Castle File:Nevsehir Kale 2019 1658 panorama.jpg, Nevşehir Castle above the underground city discovered in 2015 File:Nevsehir september 2011 9807.jpg, 18th-century Damat Ibrahim Pasha mosque complex File:Nevsehir Damat Ibrahim Pasha Mosque june 2017 3558.jpg, Interior of Damat Ibrahim Pasha Mosque File:Nevsehir september 2011 9834.jpg, Nevşehir's Damat Ibrahim Pasha complex includes a hamam File:Nevsehir september 2011 9800.jpg, Medrese of Damat Ibrahim Pasha mosque complex File:MeryemAnaKilisesiNevsehir.jpg, Disused Church of the Virgin Mary in Nevşehir File:RumHamamıNevşehir2.jpg, Greek (Rum) bathhouse in Nevşehir File:Nevsehir museum Middle bronze age 2000-1200 BC 2019 1584.jpg, Nevşehir Museum: Middle Bronze Age pot, 2000-1200 BC File:Nevsehir museum 2019 1576.jpg, Nevşehir Museum: Late Byzantine earthenware vessels File:Nevsehir museum Terracotta sarcophagi 3-4th AD 2019 1611.jpg, Nevşehir Museum: terracotta sarcophagi, 3rd-4th centuries AD File:Nevsehir museum 2019 1573.jpg, Nevşehir Museum: ox-drawn cart File:Nevsehir september 2011 9884.jpg, Nevşehir municipality offices and statue of Atatürk File:NevsehirBelediye.jpg, Nevşehir Municipality

Climate

Nevşehir has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''Dsa,''

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

: ''Dc''), with cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Precipitation occurs throughout the year, with a slight peak in spring.

Notes

References

Activities in Nevşehir
/ref> * *

External links

Nevşehir Travel governor's official website

Nevşehir governor's official website
*
Map of Nevşehir district

Nevşehir municipality's official website

Nevşehir

Some 200 pictures of the town and its sights

Administrative map of Nevşehir district
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevsehir Cities in Turkey Districts of Nevşehir Province Populated places in Nevşehir Province Archaeological sites in Central Anatolia Roman sites in Turkey Cappadocia