Niğde, Central Anatolia Region, Türkiye

🇹🇷 Niğde (Νίγδη; Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District. It lies at an elevation of 1,276 m (4,186 ft).

The city is small with plenty of green space and gardens around the houses. Its people generally tend to be religious and conservative.

Medieval monuments are scattered about the centre of the town, especially around the market place.

The nearest airport is Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) which is 90.6 km (50.6 miles) away.

History Niğde is located near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from Kayseri (ancient Caesarea Mazaca) to the Cilician Gates and thence to the Mediterranean coast. The area has been settled by Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Romans, Byzantines and Turks. In the early Middle Ages, it was known as Magida (Greek: Μαγίδα), and was settled by the remaining inhabitants of nearby Tyana after it fell to the Arabs in 708/709.

By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia. After the fall of the Sultanate of Rûm (of which it had been one of the principal cities), Niğde was captured by Anatolian beyliks such as the Karaman Beylik and Eretna Beylik. Passing through in the 14th century, the explorer Ibn Battuta reported it ruinous. It did not pass into Ottoman hands until 1467.

According to the Ottoman population statistics of 1914, the sanjak of Niğde, then part of the Konya Vilayet, had a total population of 291,117, consisting of 227,100 Muslims, 58,312 Greeks, 4,935 Armenians and 769 Protestants. The demographics of the town of Niğde, which was part of the Niğde sanjak, consisted of 52.754 Muslims, 26.156 Greeks, 1.149 Armenians and 137 Protestants. Most of the Christian population of late 19th-century Niğde lived in the Eski Saray Mahallesi near the Sungur Bey Mosque where the remains of two large stone churches still survive in a neglected condition.

Republican era

More recent immigrants include Turks from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, who were settled here by the Turkish authorities in the 1950s and 1960s.

The opening of Niğde University in 1992 started to bring more cultural and social amenities to what was at the time essentially a large town with a rather rural feel to it.

Geography Niğde consists of 26 neighbourhoods: Alaaddin, Ahipaşa, A.Kayabaşı, Balhasan, Burhan, Çayır, Dere, Efendibey, Esenbey, Eskisaray, İlhanlı, Kale, Nar, Saruhan, Selçuk, Sırali, Sungur, Ş.Süleyman, Şahinali, Şehitler, Yenice, Y.Kayabaşı, İnönü, Fertek, Kumluca and Hamamlı.

Sightseeing In town • Sungur Bey Mosque, a unique early 14th-century mosque in the town centre which combines elements of Selçuk and Gothic architecture, including quadripartite vaulting and a rose window. Standing on a platform above the market place, it was recently restored. • Alaaddin Mosque, a 13th-century mosque whose portal is decorated with muqarnas. Shadows cast on the stone masonry around the entrance at a specific time on specific days of the year are said to form an image of a woman's face with a crown and long hair (Islam forbade human imagery but tessellations and calligraphic pictures were allowed, so "accidental" silhouettes became a creative escape). • Hudavend Hatun Türbe, the finest of several Selçuk tombs in the centre of Niğde, dates back to the early 14th century. • Ak Medrese (White Medrese), built in 1409 during the years when the Karamanoğlu dynasty ruled Niğde. • Niğde Castle (Niğde Kalesi) looms above the town, its location made obvious by a clocktower (1902) inside it. It dates back in part to Selçuk times. Its interior is now a public park. • Niğde Archaeological Museum, one of whose star attractions is the Niğde Stele which was recovered from the Dışarı Mosque where it was being used as a door lintel.

Sightseeing Around town • Eski Gümüşler Monastery, a rock-cut frescoed monastery built by the Byzantines and containing unique paintings of stories from Aesop's Fables. It was only rediscovered in 1963 • Kemerhisar, the site of ancient Tyana, especially noted for a lengthy surviving stretch of Roman aqueduct. • Aladağlar and Bolkar Mountains, which are popular with mountaineers and trekkers. • Çiniligöl • Çiftehan thermal springs