Travel Turkey: Tourists flock to Göreme Open Air Museum

The Göreme Open Air Museum, which is among the top 10 most visited museums in Turkey and houses traces of Christian history, attracted 275,705 visitors in the first four months of this year.

The museum which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 6, 1985, as a natural, historical, and cultural site, stands out with its rock-carved churches, monasteries, and chapels, as well as religious-themed wall paintings known as frescoes in these places.

Initially featuring rock-carved chapels, the number of churches in the museum area rapidly increased after the Roman Emperor Constantine I accepted Christianity in the third century. The well-preserved wall paintings in these churches attract the interest of visitors.

Among the museums affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Göreme Open Air Museum is listed as one of the top 10 most visited tourist centers in Turkey. In January, 41,889 tourists visited the museum, followed by 45,124 in February, 61,987 in March, and 126,705 in April.

Nevşehir Tourist Guides Chamber President Özay Onur noted that the Göreme Open Air Museum was among the top 5 museums in Turkey in terms of the number of visitors. Onur highlighted the historical significance of the museum area for Christianity, stating that many saints were trained in the monasteries here, and that the museum also served religious tourism.

“There are similar frescoes, but none are exactly the same”

Onur pointed out that the area had numerous rock-carved churches of various sizes and added following: “Kapadokya has a very important place in the history of Christianity. During the period of Christian persecution from 70 AD to 330 AD, Christians lived in hiding in the valleys of Kapadokya. After Emperor Constantine allowed Christianity, people in the region built churches to express their gratitude. In 200 years, they built 365 churches and lived here. Within the Göreme Open Air Museum, there are 16 chapels and churches of various sizes. Due to the monastic lifestyle, there are also educational and learning areas here. Especially when we look at the churches here, we see that the frescoes are abundant and well-preserved. Paintings were made in the churches from the 10th century to the end of the 12th century. Especially the frescoes in the Dark Church give the impression that they were made just yesterday. There are similar frescoes, but none are exactly the same. This is the only place where they are densely found in one location, which attracts tourists.”

“Tourists should come here first”

French tourist Degeneve Laurence, who visited the museum, expressed her long-standing desire to visit Kapadokya and her admiration for the areas she toured, saying, “This is truly a magnificent place. Definitely, all traveling tourists should come here first. Kapadokya is beautiful, and so is Turkey. I highly recommend it to everyone.”