Uçhisar is a town (''

belde Belde (literally "town", also known as ''kasaba'') means "large village with a municipality" in Turkish language, Turkish. All Turkish province centers and district centers have municipalities, but the Villages of Turkey, villages are usually too ...

'') in the Nevşehir District,

Nevşehir Province Nevşehir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its area is 5,485 km2, and its population is 317,952 (2024). Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir Province, Kırşehir to the northwest ...

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

, Turkey. Its population is 3,555 (2022). It is 7 kilometres east of

Nevşehir Nevşehir (; from 'new' and 'city') is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Nevşehir Province and Nevşehir District.Ürgüp Ürgüp ( ''Prokópio,'' Cappadocian Greek: ''Prokópi'', ) is a town in Nevşehir province in the Cappadocia area of Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Ürgüp District.Avanos. Situated on the edge of Göreme National Park, Uçhisar consists of an old village huddled around the base of a huge rock cone and a new one closer to the road that runs from Nevşehir town to

Göreme Göreme (; ) is a town (''belde'') in the Nevşehir District, Nevşehir Province in Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its population is 2,034 (2022). It is well known for its fairy chimneys (Turkish language, Turkish: ''peribacalar''), eroded rock forma ...

. Like most of Cappadocia, Uçhisar once made a living from agriculture but now depends almost entirely on tourism, with many of its fine old stone houses turned into boutique hotels. French incomers and Turks returning from France have played a large part in the move to convert the houses into hotels. Uçhisar means "outer citadel" in Turkish and refers to the huge rock cone that is its central feature. The Güvercinlik Valley that overlooks Uçhisar was known as Vasil Potamus or Vasilius (Basilius, named after St. Basil) in antiquity.

History

Uçhisar was first mentioned in a 14th-century chronicle by Aziz ibn Ardasir although the general area had been occupied from much earlier, perhaps from Hittite times. In the seventh century AD, the Byzantines created a 'buffer zone' in the area against Islamic expansion. The nature of the terrain was conducive to defence, while the camouflage of the buildings provided an improved defence against attackers. After their conquest of the region, the Selçuks also made use of the defensive possibilities of the area, creating small centres with

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

s in the region. In 2000 a German woman called Evelyn Kopp bought a house in old Uçhisar and later published a book about the village, its history and traditions called Uçhisar Unfolding: The Many Faces of a Cappadocian Village.

Attractions

Uçhisar is dominated by a 60-metre-high 'castle' which is actually a rock formation visible over a wide distance. Uçhisar Kalesi (Uçhisar Castle) is crisscrossed by numerous underground passageways and rooms, which are now mostly blocked or impassable but which served as residential areas and, perhaps, cloisters in Byzantine times. Perhaps around 1,000 people once lived in the castle although it is no longer inhabited today. It is open to the public and offers fine views from its summit. Many fairy chimneys can be seen in and around Uçhisar, One of them houses a Jandarma (police) post. The only rock-cut church inside Uçhisar is the sixth-century Church of St Basil which is inside a rock cone and not very easy to access. The old village is full of lovely old stone houses, some of them with fine carvings on their facades. Many of them have been converted into hotels since 2000. In the centre of the town a tunnel extends for about 100 metres below some of the houses. It was cut out of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

(a type of rock) in earlier times and probably served as a link from the castle-fortress to the outside world and as a way of protecting their water supply. The Pigeon Valley () runs between Uçhisar and neighbouring Göreme, a walk of around two hours. Over the course of the years, many pigeon-houses were carved into the sides of the valley. Inside were many niches where pigeons could roost. Pigeon guano was widely used as a fertiliser into the 1970s. Pigeon droppings were also used to enhance the colours of the frescoes in the cave churches. File:Uchisar02.jpg, Street in old part of Uçhisar File:Uchisar01.jpg, House carved out of fairy chimney File:Uçhisar1.jpg, Uçhisar Kalesi (Uçhisar Castle) from the south

References

Bibliography

* Michael Bussmann, Gabrielle Tröger: ''Türkische Riviera, Kappadokien''. Michael Müller Verlag, Erlangen 2003, * Peter Daners, Volher Ohl: ''Kappadokien''. Dumont, 1996,

External links

''Uchisar Cappadocia''

Pigeon Valley, Cappadocia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uchisar Cappadocia Populated places in Nevşehir District Town municipalities in Turkey Underground cities in Cappadocia

History

Attractions

See also

References

Bibliography

External links