Gateway to Cappadocia awaits visitors with many attractions

Home to many civilizations such as the Hittites, Romans, Seljuks, Karamanoğlu Principality and Ottomans, the Central Anatolian province of Niğde awaits its visitors with its churches, ruins, mosques, mountains, lakes and natural beauties.

The crater lakes Karagöl and Çiniligöl, which are approximately 2,650 meters high in the Bolkar Mountains in Ulukışla district, draw attention with their endemic plant and animal species. In addition to its natural beauties, tourists can also see the Taurus frog (Rana holtzi), also known as the "silent frog," which is protected by the Bern Convention.

Aladağlar Mount in Çamardı district, with seven peaks above 3,500 meters, is among the important mountaineering centers. Demirkazık, one of the most important peaks of the region, hosts many amateur and professional mountaineers.

The Gümüşler Monastery, which is believed to have been built between the 8th century and the 12th century in the Gümüşler town of the center, has interior decorations, which are described as the best wall paintings of the Cappadocia region, rock-carved priest rooms, kitchen, storage cubes, a two-storey underground city and secret compartments, made to hide in emergency situations. The monastery also attracts attention with its "Smiling Virgin Mary" fresco, which is known to be the only example in Anatolia.

On the Alaaddin Hill in the city center, the shadow, which is like a "crowned woman's head," on the stone engraving on the upper part of the east-facing door of the historical Alaaddin Mosque, which was built by Zeyneddin Beşare in 1223, draws attention.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Niğde Governor Yılmaz Şimşek said that Niğde is the gateway to the Cappadocia region.

Şimşek stated that the city hosted...