Urgup Cappadocia İnformation About Turkey

Urgup Cappadocia Turkey

Ürgüp is a little town 20 km. to Nevşehir. it is an ancient settlement center lying on the foot of a mountain and is 7 km. to Göreme and 60 km. to Kayseri.

It is said that the word Ürgüp is a combinatian of the words UR and KUP. Ur means "rock" and kup means "many". The history of the town goes back to the Hittites. Under Seljuks, Ürgüp was again an im­portant town.

Indeed, Ürgüp is a masterpiece of culture, history, and civilization with its discovered remains which are preserved until recent times. Though lost most of their characteristics and peculiarities in time by natural calamities and erosions, there are still monuments and remains which survives today and will continue to survive in the future. Fairy chimneys and the carvings on the rocks and the rock houses in which, once upon a time, the people lived and made them shelter for themselves are still lively. Most of the tableland here consists of tuff, which becomes oxidized and forms a hard bark resistant to bad weather conditions. it is easily recognized that vineyards, apple, apricot gardens, poplar trees adorn the environs of Ürgüp. The region owns fertile soils which are almost white (regosol) colored. Due to the characteristics of climate and soil, grape with seeds is grown here. Ürgüp wines gain its well-known quality by this soil and climate. Ürgüp wines which are famous throughout the world are kept and sold in cellers. Every year, in October, an International Wine Festival is held.
Ürgüp is also a very rich and lively shopping center for tourists.

Summers are hot and winters are cold in Ürgüp. The hottest months are July and August. Average temperature is 28 °C in July and 26.5 °C in August. December and January are the coldest months. Average lowest temperature is -7°C People living in Ürgüp show their hospitality by letting their houses on hire as pensions and providing shelter for tourists in that way. Beautiful and comfortable camps, motels dancing halls and hotels with swimming pools in and near the town and historical hamam (Turkish bath) is another peculiarity of the town. The historical bath is one of the remains which can still be used for bathing. Following an entry with dome, comes a hot central massage slab (especially for sweating) which is surrounded by bathing cabins.

Ürgüp was an important city in Byzantium (especially in the 11th and 10th centuries). The area on which the town lies was eroded through Kızılırmak Valley from the mountain. The rocks and pieces of rocks which have come into this area from Erciyes Mountain after volcanic explosions can easily be recognized.

Volcanic explosions and the following natural events and erosion have added characteristic peculiarities to the structure of soil in Ürgüp.

Water flows from Kızılırmak river and its winds have formed small hills, mounds, valleys and ridges. Therefore, very interesting and astonishing scenes are seen in the landscape of Ürgüp. Fairy Chimneys are the most attractive formations in this scene. Vertical pyramids are of various height and size. Some are even 30 m. high. On the top of some of these pyramids, there are large rocks which look like a roof or a hat and one would think that theyare placed there by someone very carefully. These rocks present a wonderful scene through the aesthetic balance of a horizontally placed rock on the summit of a naturally upside cone which is protected against outside effects such as rain, snow and storm.

The highest point in the plateau is Topuz Mountain which is 1500 m. high. Although it has a stiff appearance, its summit is not apoint but a flat level.
In the valleys which are formed by volcanic lavas and tuffs, rivers have formed interesting and various folds and channels. Volcanic tuff as the first layer and basalt and andesit lavas on it form the outer appearance and the body of the fairy chimneys. How many meters the tuff is, is not known yet. it is estimated to be nearly 100 m.

Among these magnificent views, Christianity gains a particular appearance and importance with a lot of holy buildings, chapels and churches. it is as if "a new city of Byzantine art", in the words of R.P. de Jerphanion. There are many churches and monasteries, which, although left to the nature and abandoned centuries ago, still carry their characteristics near Ürgüp. Settlings carved out rock, are lively evidences of history together with the churches and monasteries.

The plateau is a quite wide area and the soil has a soft and easily processable structure which allows to make shelters by hollowing. Therefore, ornaments made by hand on the rocks in the decoration of churches (Rupestre) is widely used. Placing, processing, designing of the stones and the rocks are so beautiful and incredible that it can hardly be done today by the experts of civil engineering. Special care was taken to provide the complete appearance and construction and building characteristics of a church or a monastery.

There are also decoration designs reflecting the color and art fashion of the ages they were made. Handworks on the rocks, dyes of the paintings were attached with strong adhesives. There exist lively and attractive (saisissant) figures and paintings which are really very important works of art.

These figures and colors show the line concept and art sense of that age. Portraits in the form of medallion (circles) represent the significant characters of Byzantine period. St Georges, Ste. Barbara, Stea. Catherina, St. Christophe, St. Eustache, King Constantine, Queen Helene are portrayed in these churches and monasteries with a cross in their hands. The fiestas that were celebrated once upon a time have also been represented in these paintings.

Dyes, paintings and motifs describe the way of life of those ages.
In the colors of the carpets and kilims, which are woven today in Ürgüp and its environs, and in the motifs of them, the same natural dyes are recognized just like a tradition carried on for centuries.

Keşlik Monastery Valley, Devrent Valley and Pancarlı Kilisesi (Pancarlı Church) are interesting places to visit. In Kızılçukur Valley, you can watch sunset best in the region. AIso, Üzümlü Kilise (Church of Grapes) is another building which is still preserved.