Güzelyurt

Güzelyurt
Municipality

Güzelyurt Location in Turkey Show map of Turkey Güzelyurt Güzelyurt (Turkey Central Anatolia) Show map of Turkey Central Anatolia
Coordinates: 38°16′38″N 34°22′19″E / 38.27722°N 34.37194°E / 38.27722; 34.37194
Country	Turkey
Province	Aksaray
District	Güzelyurt
Government
• Mayor	Ünal Demircioğlu (AKP)
Elevation	1,485 m (4,872 ft)
Population (2021)^[1]	2,570
Time zone	TRT (UTC+3)
Area code	0382
Website	www.guzelyurt.bel.tr

Güzelyurt, meaning 'beautiful homeland', formerly Gelveri (Cappadocian Greek: Καρβάλη^[2]), is a town in Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of 45 km (28 mi) from the city of Aksaray. It is the seat of Güzelyurt District.^[3] Its population is 2,570 (2021).^[1] Its elevation is 1,485 m (4,872 ft).

This area is part of the ancient region of Cappadocia, near the Ihlara Valley.

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History

Cappadocia has an important place in the history of Christianity and Gregory of Nazianzus lived in the area. A historically large native Cappadocian Greek population existed in the area until the 1924 population exchange (see Cappadocian Greeks), when they were replaced with the Turks from Thessaloniki and Kavala. The monastery, churches, refuge caves, and mansions attest to the culture of the Cappadocian Greek population.^[4]

Places of interest

Güzelyurt is known for having three underground cities and over 50 churches carved into the rocky volcanic landscape including:

Ihlara Valley
Monastery Valley, "Manastır Vadisi"
Fairy Chimneys, "Peri Bacaları"
Antique Greek houses
Ahmatlı Church
St. Anargiros Church, "Sivişli Kilise"
Koç Church
Cathedral of Selime
The rock monastery of Selime, one of the largest religious buildings in Cappadocia.
Kızıl Kilise, "St. Spyridon Church" - a 5th or 6th century church (with an inscription dated to 1084) in the village of Sivrihisar.
St. Analipsis Church, "Yüksek Kilise" (High Church) on the hill of Analipsis. Stone age relics have been found nearby.
St. Gregorius Church, "Kilise Cami" - another rock-hewn church, in use today as a mosque
Kalburlu Kilisesi ('Sieve church', also called St. Epthemios Church').
Kömürlü Kilise, dedicated to St. Anargyros in the Monastery valley close to the Kalburlu church.
Çömlekçi Kilise, near the Koç church.

Other places of interest include:

The tomb of Selime Sultan in the village of Selime.
Linseed House, "Bezirhane" in the village of Belisırma.
The Priests House, also known as Papaz Evi.
Ziga thermal springs, "Ziga kaplıcaları" is located in the village of Yaprakhisar very close to Ihlara Valley.
Güzelyurt Pond Dam (Göleti)
An underground city is situated in Gaziemir village of Güzelyurt.^[5]

Image gallery

Ihlara Valley
St. Gregorius Church
Kizil Kilise, meaning “Red Church” in Güzelyurt
A church in Ihlara Valley
Historic houses in Güzelyurt

References

^ ^a ^b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021" (XLS) (in Turkish). TÜİK. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^ Oberheu, Susanne. Wadenpohl, Michael (2010). Cappadocia. BoD. pp. 270–1. ISBN 978-3-8391-5661-2. On May 1st, 1923, the agreement on the exchange of the Turkish and Greek minorities in both countries was published. A shock went through the ranks of the people affected – on both sides. Within a few months they had to pack their belongings and ship them or even sell them. They were to leave their homes, which had also been their great-grandfathers' homes, they were to give up their holy places and leave the graves of their ancestors to an uncertain fate. In Cappadocia, the villages of Mustafapasa, Urgup, Guzelyurt and Nevsehir were the ones affected most by this rule. Often more than half the population of a village had to leave the country, so that those places were hardly able to survive…The Greeks form Cappadocia were taken to Mersin on the coast in order to be shipped to Greece from there. But they had to leave the remaining part of their belongings behind in the harbor. They were actually promised that everything would be sent after them later, but corrupt officials and numberless thieves looted the crammed storehouses, so that after a few months only a fraction of the goods or even nothing at all arrived at their new home….Today the old houses of the Greek people are the only testimony that reminds us of them in Cappadocia. But these silent witnesses are in danger, too. Only a few families can afford the maintenance of those buildings….{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^ Güzelyurt becomes a touristic hub. AKSARAY - Anatolia News Agency. July 17, 2012. In the town of Güzelyurt in Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolian region of Turkey, 250-year-old arched stone mansions have been transformed into boutique hotels to serve tourists coming to discover the area's cultural and historical treasures. The town is an important part of the historical Cappadocia region…Much of the previously large Greek population in Güzelyurt vanished with the population exchange of the 1920s. "With the population exchange in 1924, Greeks and Turks exchanged places. Before the population exchange, rich Greeks dealing with trade in Istanbul had historical mansions in Güzelyurt," Özeş said. Some houses in the town date back 250 years and a few 100-year-old historical houses also exist, according to Özeş. "They have extremely thick walls. The height of the arches is nearly four to five meters. Each of the houses is a work of art creating an authentic environment."
^ Governorship of Aksaray, Turkey. "Underground cities in Aksaray". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-02.