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Nevsehir is the capital of Nevsehir Province in Turkey.
Nevsehir’s ancient name was “Nyssa”. The Christian theologian and saint Gregory of Nyssa was bishop of Nyssa in the late 4th century AD.
In the Ottoman period Nyssa was renamed “Muskara”. The son-in-law of Sultan Ahmet III, the Osmanli (Ottoman) Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasa was born in Nevsehir and therefore took a great interest in its construction. The small village with 18 houses, once under the administration of Urgup, was transformed with the building of mosques, fountains, schools, soup kitchens, inns and bath houses, and its name was changed from Muskara to "Nevsehir" (meaning New City in Persian). It is 290 km. from the capital Ankara, and on the edge of Cappadocia.
Nevsehir is the capital of the Cappadocia region and is a perfect starting point for the area. The first settlements date back to 3000 BC; its oldest name was "Nyssa." The city also has some interesting remains from the Seljuk period, such as the castle which stands at the highest point of the city. The Kursunlu Mosque has an impressive complex of buildings and a medresse surrounding it which dates back to 1726. The museum displays a rich collection of the local finds.
Gulsehir, and Hacibektas which is the town where Haci Bektas Veli settled in the 14th century, and set up his own Bektas Dervish order which was based on love and humanism. Hacibektas is famous for its onyx souvenirs.
Cappadocia has one of the most interesting and spectacular landscapes in the world. About three million years ago the volcanoes of Mt. Erciyes and Mt. Hasan covered the surrounding plateau with volcanic tuff as a result of their violent eruptions. The natural effects of wind, water and rain eroded this area into a spectacular, surrealist landscape of rock caves, capped pinnacles and fretted ravines in colors ranging from warm tones of red and gold to cool tones of green and gray.
Dating back to 4000 BC; the earliest people used to live in Goreme, known as Cappadocia, in dwellings dug into the rock. Christianity came to the region, and chapels, churches and monasteries were constructed in the rocks. At Derinkuyu, Mazi and Kaymakli, cities were developed underground in order for the inhabitants to hide from raiders. There is another underground city -Ozkonak- which is also open to the public. They are really amazing to visit, and give a sense of the way people must have felt while living underground.
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