Kayaşehir is located in the city center of Nevşehir, situated at the foothills of Nevşehir Castle. The area was discovered in 2014 during the “Nevşehir Castle and Surroundings Urban Transformation Project” conducted by the Municipality of Nevşehir and the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ). Excavations carried out as part of the urban transformation process revealed a multi-layered and multifunctional underground settlement beneath the surface.

Declared a protected archaeological site by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kayaşehir has undergone archaeological excavation, cleaning, and restoration since 2015. To date, the site has yielded a 6th-century monastery, a 12th-century frescoed church, numerous rock-cut tombs, passageways, tunnels, and various rooms. Studies indicate that Kayaşehir contains traces from the Byzantine, Roman, Seljuk, Ottoman, and Republican periods, making it a highly stratified settlement.

Kayaşehir (Anadolu Ajansı)

Characteristics

Kayaşehir spans an area of approximately 400,000 square meters surrounding Nevşehir Castle. Excavations have uncovered more than 1,000 rock-cut spaces. Among these are worship areas, tombs, cisterns, living quarters, stables, air shafts, and tunnels.

According to officials from the Nevşehir Museum, a total of 1,271 archaeological artifacts have been unearthed and delivered to the museum. Certain sections of the area resemble a seven-story underground city. Most of the structures are carved into the natural rock and arranged in stepped terraces along the slope.

Kayaşehir (Anadolu Ajansı)

Architecture

Kayaşehir features the characteristic rock-carved architecture of the Cappadocia region. The buildings identified at the site are mostly rooms carved into tuff rock. These include multi-room houses, communal living spaces, storage areas, and stables.

One of the religious structures found in the area is a 6th-century monastery. A church dating to the 12th century, containing frescoes depicting the birth of Jesus, has also been discovered. These frescoes are noted to have been created using techniques typical of Byzantine art.

The rooms, connected by passage tunnels, appear to have been used for both daily living and defensive purposes. At the upper levels of the site, air shafts and cistern systems have also been identified. The settlement extends in a tiered structure along the slope, highlighting its complex, layered design.

Kayaşehir (Anadolu Ajansı)