Nevşehir is a city in Cappadocia, with a population of 118,000 in 2020. It traditionally made carpets and wine, but the main business today is tourism. It doesn't have the "fairy chimneys" of nearby Göreme, but does have a remarkable collection of underground cities.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
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.
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.
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. (updated Jul 2024) 2 Kayaşehir. 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.
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.
Lots of small places along the main east-west street Atatürk Blv near its intersection with Lale Cd running north-south.
Cafes and restaurants serve alcohol, no stand-alone bars. Local wine: Cappadocia mostly makes red wine.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Jul, Nevsehir typically sees ~33°C daytime highs and 0 rainy days.
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