Nevsehir - The Goreme National Park

Goreme National Park has the most interesting and beautiful land formations in Turkey and is worth seeing. Hasan Mountain and Erciyes Mountain, the two largest inactive volcanoes in Central Anatolia, were active in earlier geological periods and the whole region was covered with tufa spewed from the volcano. The fantastic Goreme National Park, which was created by nature as the result of erosion from wind and rain over centuries, has formed the countless fairy chimneys, caves and beautiful rock formations, and the colors that used to be red, pink and brown were transformed in time into gray, yellow and green.

Goreme National Park, which was an official state during the period of the Roman Empire, was named "Capadocia", which means "the Country of White Horses" in Persian. The region shelters a unique land structure and was used intensively as a religious center by the early Christians during the Roman and Byzantine Periods. The volcanic, soft tufa structures were carved easily by the early Christians and underground cities, monasteries and churches were built. Uchisar, with its panoramic view and citadel; Goreme, with its frescoed churches in Open Air Museum, pensions, hotels, restaurants and cafes; Zelve, with its monastery complexes; Avanos, with its workshops, which produce pottery and extraordinarily beautiful glazed tiles; Urgup, a center for shopping and spending the night; Kaymakli and Derinkuyu with their underground cities, are all worth seeing. Nevsehir Province is at the center of the volcanic plateau, Kirsehir Province is to the north, Kayseri Province is to the east, Nigde Province is to the south and Aksaray Province is to the west.

Hacı Bektas Veli Kulliyesi (complex of buildings attached to a mosque) can be visited as a museum in Hacibektas County to the north of Nevsehir, surrounded by the Goreme National Park. The famous Turkish philosopher Bektas Veli, who was raised here, enlightened the Anatolians with his humanist ideas. Kirsehir Province, which has a rich culture, is located to the north of Hacibektas. The great Turkish philosophers and scientists transformed Kirsehir into a center where Turkish culture was kept alive. Caca Bey, Asik Pasha and Ahmet Bey enlightened the Turkish society with their works written in Turkish.

These great persons, who were raised in Kirsehir, taught Turkish at the madrasahs and played an important role in the "Turkification" of Anatolia and the founding of the Ottoman State. Ahi Evran, who was the leader of the Turkish tradesmen, and the originator of the concepts of cooperatives, workers unions and social security, also lived in Kirsehir. Seyfe Lake, where flamingos live on its banks, and the Hirfanli Dam Lake, are the most attractive recreation areas in the environs of the city. The Mikasonmiya Commemorative Garden, one of the largest parks in Turkey, is located near Kaman County. There are a total of 16,500 trees of 33 different species at the park.

Kayseri 

Kayseri Province, located on the plains at the northern foot of Erciyes Mountain to the east of Nevsehir, is one of the most important industrial centers of the Central Anatolia Region. In particular, the textile industry, food industry, carpet weaving, copper works and leather processing are of great importance. Most of the minerals are exported, such as iron, lignite and chromium, which are extracted from the lands of Kayseri which are rich in minerals. The rest are used in making metal goods.

There are numerous historical sites in Kayseri Province belonging to the Beylics, Seljuk and Ottoman Periods, as is the case in the other Anatolian cities. The ancient city of Kultepe is located to the north of the city. Kultepe (Karum), which was an important trade center founded by the Hittites around 2000 B.C., is known as the first city in the world where free trade was practiced. The first wandering merchants in the world were marketing the Anatolian goods they bought at Kultepe in Mesopotamia and they were selling the goods they bought at Mesopotamia, in Kultepe. Kultepe remains are exhibited at the Kayseri Archaeological Museum.

Aksaray

Nigde