Gümüşler Monastery and Underground City

Cappadocia holds many rock-cut monasteries, and Gümüşler, in the town of the same name about 8 kilometres from Niğde, is among the best preserved and most attractive. Declared an archaeological site in 1973, it was carved out of a large bedrock mass.

The monastery dates to around the tenth century, although signs suggest that work continued between the eighth and twelfth centuries. It has a central courtyard with steep walls some 14 metres high, a church, underground spaces and other linked rooms. The large room to the north and the courtyard floor served as cemeteries.

The church, cut into the rock with four columns, has walls covered in frescoes with strong, lively imagery. Together with the underground city, the burial chamber and the carefully planned defensive features, they show that Gümüşler was an important religious centre of its age and one of the finest examples of Byzantine art in Anatolia.