Aksaray

Last update September 24, 2026

Aksaray sits on the quieter side of Cappadocia, and this is really part of its appeal. Most visitors go directly toward Göreme, the hot air balloons and cave hotels, while Aksaray is often skipped or used as a simple highway stop when going toward Konya. That is a bit of a mistake. The town itself is fairly ordinary, with concrete buildings and plenty of traffic, but it gives access to Ihlara Valley, a canyon formed by the Melendiz River and extending 14 kilometers through volcanic rock. To get down, you walk down around 400 steps. Once you are beside the river, walking under the poplar trees, you will mostly forget about those steps. Going back up is another matter. Bring water.

Ihlara is different from the fairy chimneys farther north because the interesting things are carved into the canyon walls rather than standing above the landscape. Churches were carved into the rock by monks beginning in the 4th century, and around a dozen can still be visited. Inside, Byzantine frescoes have remained for more than a thousand years, despite weather and neglect. If you follow the trail between Ihlara village and Selime, several churches appear along the way without needing much searching. The route was used by pilgrims and people who actually lived in the canyon, rather than being designed as a tourist trail. Belisirma is approximately halfway along and has a few restaurants beside the river, where trout can be eaten almost with your feet in the water. It makes a useful stopping place, especially when you started early and the afternoon sun has arrived.

If you have a car, or you are willing to take a long taxi ride, Aksaray also gives you access to Tuz Gölü, Turkey’s second largest lake. The salt flats spread out in a very white and flat landscape, sometimes so wide that your sense of scale becomes a little confused. It is a strange change after spending the morning inside a green canyon, but that contrast is exactly what makes the detour interesting. Sultanhanı, an old Seljuk caravanserai along the historic Silk Road route, is also in roughly the same direction and can be walked through properly in about twenty minutes. None of these places really requires more than a day, which makes Aksaray useful as a base for seeing Cappadocia’s landscapes without being surrounded by the same crowds, or as a stop when driving between Konya and Nevşehir. It would be easy to rush past it, but there is quite a lot of old history here to stop for.