In Cappadocia there are many museums, both natural and manmade. Here we suggest those we consider the most interesting:
Open Air Museum of Goreme
Located in the Goreme National Historical Park, the museum consists of churches and monasteries of different sizes carved into the volcanic rock. We also see the Byzantine church architecture and overall religious architecture of the region, in a natural environment and breathtaking scenery.
Open Air Museum of Zelve
The Open Air Museum of Zelve, which once housed one of the largest communities in the region, includes an excavated village, a maze of houses, religious and secular chambers.
Nevsehir Museum
It was opened in 1988 and presents the results and findings of the vast majority of the excavations in the area. With no doubts, a must see for devotees of history and archeology.
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of Hacıbektaş
This museum displays objects obtained in the excavations of Karahöyük, with findings from the Bronze Age and the Hellenistic and Roman periods to the Ottoman era.
Haci Bektas Veli Complex
This museum houses the mausoleum of Haci Bektas-i Veli, dervishes tombs, a refectory, a hamam, a mosque, a guest house and lounge where sacred ceremonies were held in that order, as well as items from the time of Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Urgup Museum
Includes a sample of fossils found in the area as well as prehistoric objects from the Bronze Age and Hittite, Phrygian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Also shown are typical regional clothes, weapons and other items.
Private Museum of Art and History
It is located in a mansion of 150 years, in Mustafapasa (Sinasos), 5 kilometers from Ürgüp. It is the first of the “handmade museums for kids (hand made baby)” in Turkey and it displays more than 2000 crafts.
Aksaray Museum
It is the largest museum of Central Anatolia and it exhibit stones, fossils, art, ethnographic and archives. It is in itself a sign of the region’s architectural synthesis.
Father Somuncu Complex (Somuncu Baba)
Located in the city of Aksaray, this museum depicts the life of an ascetic and teacher of Islam in Bursa, Somuncu Baba, by miniatures and oral explanations.
Aksaray Cultural Center
This building, which initially served as the Governor Seat, became the cultural center of Aksaray in 2007, where you can see the main traditions and customs of life in this province.