Odunpazarı is the historic old town neighborhood of Eskişehir, Turkey, where Turks traditionally lived. It’s a short walk south of the city center and is filled with several very nicely restored Ottoman homes and buildings.
The small town of Hacıbektaş wasn’t on my schedule for the day. I was passing through and decided to stop and I’m glad I did. Although I have to go back and see more, I really enjoyed my short stay in the town and it produced one of my best memories of Turkey.
When I told my students in Istanbul I was visiting Kırşehir, I got funny looks and lots of “why?”. They had a point. Kırşehir is a mostly uninteresting city in Central Anatolia.
Eski Gümüşler Monastery (Eski Gümüşler Manastırı) is a Byzantine-era cave monastery rediscovered in 1963. It’s located a short drive from the city of Niğde.
When I first arrived in Niğde, I was second guessing my choice to visit. It’s not a beautiful city by any means. Outside of the decent city center, this Central Anatolian city is an otherwise dusty and ugly town. However, once I started exploring, I realized it’s been blessed with a few unique sites built by four different civilizations.
Kayseri is a large city but most of the attractions can be found in the compact historic city center. Everything of interest is pretty much within walking distance.
Near Republic Square (Cumhuriyet Meydanı) in Kayseri’s city center is the pleasant Mimar Sinan Park (Mimar Sinan Parkı). The park is named for the great Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, who was originally an Armenian or Greek Christian from Kayseri. A monument to Sinan is at the southern end.
The city of Kayseri, located in Central Anatolia, is a city of proud conservative people. It’s thought of as an ugly city and often bypassed by tourists in favor of more beautiful natural scenery of Cappadocia. In reality, it’s got some interesting sites that make it worth a day of exploration, especially to enthusiasts of Seljuk architecture.
The Ihlara Valley (Ihlara Vadisi) is a canyon in the southwest part of Cappadocia in Turkey. It contains a wealth of rock-cut churches.
The Derinkuyu Underground City (Derinkuyu Yeraltı Şehri) is the largest multilevel underground city excavated in Turkey. It’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia.