Nevşehir Castle is one of the surviving castles in Turkey, built on a hill in Nevşehir, above an underground city. It is thought that the castle was built during the Seljuk period, in the 1100s, to protect the caravan route. During the Ottoman period, it was repaired by Nevşehirli Damat Ferit Pasha. The castle has 42 battlements and two gates. The underground city underneath is the largest underground city in the world. There is a caravan road to Baghdad that used to pass by and is thought to have been used for construction purposes. The castle is one of the most important defense examples of the Seljuk period and is suitable for use as a viewing hill in Nevşehir today.
Kayaşehir covers a total area of approximately 437,400 square meters. The 123,000 square meter rock-carved hillside settlement of this huge settlement, located only around the castle, includes a monastery dating back to the 6th century, a Byzantine rock church dating back to the first quarter of the 13th century (1215 – 1217), multi-storey tombs, a public area, religious rituals and ceremonies/meetings. It is possible to explore the area, daily living spaces, work workshops, passages supported by keystones, water tunnels, linseed mills, horse stables and more.
312 spaces have been unearthed on the area and there are 700 gallery rooms. The spaces in the underground city, which consists of hundreds of rooms, are connected to each other with long galleries and labyrinth-like tunnels. In the light of the current findings, 6 linseed oil mills, which were important industrial establishments of the period, were reached.
The place where the castle is located is known as Kale Street in Eskili neighborhood. This historical castle was built during the Seljuk period.
Not long ago, about 7 years ago in 2014, a new discovery was made in Cappadocia. As a result of the work carried out by Nevşehir Municipality and TOKİ (Turkish Mass Housing Administration), historical settlements carved out of rocks were resurfaced.
After the Victory of Manzikert in 1071, when Turkish villages began to be established in the region, the city was named 'Muşkara'. The name of the province was changed to Nevşehir in 1725. During the time of Nevşehirli Grand Vizier Damat İbrahim Pasha, a major public works movement was undertaken; Soup kitchens, mosques, madrasahs and fountains were built.
War history researcher Gürsel Akıngüç also reminded that the old name of Kilitbahir Castle, one of the castles built by Fatih Sultan Mehmet on opposite sides of the Dardanelles, was "Kilid-ül Bahir", meaning the lock of the sea.
During the Ottoman period, it was repaired by Nevşehirli Damat Ferit Pasha.
Defense, Caravan road watch castl3
Kayaşehir and its underground cities, where historical beauties can be seen together and give important clues about the lives of people who lived in the past, are among the most important icons of Cappadocia. Those who see the relatively newly discovered Kayaşehir are becoming more interested in underground cities.
Underground cities, which show the difficulties of living in Cappadocia and have been frequently exposed to enemy attacks throughout history, are settlements designed by the people of the region to escape from Byzantine, Roman and Arab attacks.
It is one of the places you should definitely visit in Nevşehir Center. It was built on a hill in a location where you can watch Nevşehir panoramic. The underground city under Nevşehir Castle is worth seeing.
The entrance to the cave is free, once you enter the cave you go down quite a bit.
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