touch

Silk Production

You can see the miraculous process of silk production here. The cocoons of little bugs turn into a delicate and valuable fabric as a result of a long and demanding process. Then these fabrics are dyed and shaped. The silk ateliers produce scarves, shawls, and even carpets.

Wool Carpets

The woollen carpets are famous here, because they are hand-made, their materials are natural lamb's wool and dyed with the gifts of nature. The making of a handmade carpet is a long and tiresome process. But the result is a feast for the eye. Nevşehir carpets mostly have geometrical figures that could be combined with a variety of decoration styles.

Clay Artistry

If you are interested in handcraft, you can try making your own clay pot here. Cappadocia region has a world-wide fame in clay artistry that you can find ornaments, kitchen utensils, vases, flowerpots, and many more objects made from clay. Some of them are such elegantly painted that you will want them as gifts for your loved ones.

Kozaklı Thermal Springs

While mention about touching, Kozaklı Thermal Springs (Kozaklı Kaplıcası) of Nevşehir are worth mentioning. Its thermal waters are very beneficial for muscle and skeletal diseases, skin and gastro-intestinal problems. Kozaklı Thermal Springs are also a fine option for just relaxing its thermal and therapeutic waters.

Gülşehir

Situated 20 km to Nevşehir city center, Gülşehir is located on the southern banks of the Kızılırmak (Red River). Today's "Rose City" as in translation of Gülşehir was once known as 'Zoropassos' and later as 'Arapsun'. Public works of the kind carried out by Damat Ibrahim Pasha in Nevşehir were realised in Gülşehir by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Karavezir Mehmet Seyyid Pasha, who had a compound consisting of a mosque, a theological school and a fountain built in the town, which consisted of only 30 households.

Two-storey Church of St. John, also known as Karşı Kilise (the Opposite Church) which is situated right at the entrance of Gülşehir, houses a wine cellar, graves, water channels and living quarters on the lower floor, and a church decorated with biblical scenes on the upper floor. According to the inscription on the apse, the church is dated to 1212. Scenes from the life of Jesus and the Bible are in the form of friezes within the borders. Yellow and brown have been used on a black background. On the niche vault and on the sides, floral and geometrical patterns were used. On the west and south walls the Last Judgment can be found, a scene rarely depicted in Cappadocian churches.

Açıksaray (Open Palace)

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 odd-looking formations, some resembling huge mushrooms, trees, even human faces.

This small settlement can be dated 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.