The tiny village of Ortahisar some 6 km west of Urgup lies at the foot of weird pock-marked tuff walls from which countless cave dwellings have been carved. An underground passage supposedly runs to the northeast to the Isa Kalesi fortified rock. Some of the churches in the village were used as barns but the walls are richly decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament. Many of the caves are used as intermediate stores for lemons. About 1km from the town is the unspoiled Halas Deresi valley with its rock churches and a monastery for Armenian Christians.
Its most pronounced structure is the Castle of Ortahisar situated at a 86 m height cave in the period of Eti. The castle has been used strategically and for accommodation. At the outskirts of the castle there are available the samples of the civil architecture characteristic to Cappadocia.
Furthermore in the stores of the rocks cave in almost the entire valley there are stored the agricultural products grown in the zone. It is an attractive town with its natural beauty and historical features. The valley contending the Kavak Ibrahim Pasa and Ortahisar regions is reaching to the Valley of Damsa Rivers. The places near to the Damsa River of this valley are named Üzengi River.
It is a place with natural features as mineral water. In the middle of Ortahisar there is a castle as a huge chimney rock. The foreign peoples also call this castle as Chateau. The inside parts are caved. It has got the rooms and saloons. Moreover around the town there are many churches. In Ortahisar the housed are raise step by step to the castle. The natural beauties, the old historic structures and the interesting citrus gardens near to the Goreme rock stones provide that the tourist to be attracted here. In the valley of Ortahisar there are very interesting abbeys and churches. These are Sarica Church, Cambazli Church, Tavsanli Church, Balkan Rive Churches, Hallac River Abbey. The Ethnography Museum where the life of Cappadocia is described has been opened at Ortahisar.
Ortahisar Village and Castle. Ortahisar Cappadocia
Ortahisar Cappadocia
Its a really amazing phenomenon where soft rocks of volcanic origin enabled to build houses, churches, even whole cities underground! Must see!
Ortahisar’s most obvious attraction is the nearly 90 meter high rock castle that dominates the village below. In Byzantine times, the rock was used as a fortress and once the whole town lived here. Now, it can be visited for great views over the surrounding valley. It costs 2 lira to visit between 7:30am and 8:30pm.
First got together, the farming Ortahisar village must have been left off the tourist map. Known for its jagged castle that gives the town its name, Ortahisar is the epitome of the rural town where craggy-faced men lean listlessly against craggy houses and work storing citrus fruit in underground caves. The cobbled streets which wind around the gorge are lined by gorgeously worn stone-house ruins and the evening silence is only broken by out-of-sync cockerels and the odd whining dog. Change is in the air though.
A handful of off-beat and beautiful boutique hotels have started to pop up as visitors searching for the Cappadocia-of-old begin to discover Ortahisar’s beguiling, arcadian beauty.
The most pronounced structure in the city of Ortahisar, situated at a 86 m height and has an amazing view of the area.
Long time ago, during the Roman Empire period, it was used as a castle as it used to be a dwelling area.
Ortahisar area is quite rich in examples of the earlier monastery life and the Ortahisar castle where used to be a dwelling area is now an interesting view point that could easily be climbed. The village is an active centre of culture and trade. The lemon produced in south coast of Turkey is kept in a natural atmosphere in underground storages carved into rocks.
The Ortahisar Castle the biggest fairy chimney in the Cappadocia region, is open to visits after nine years and has attracted 4,000 tourists in 23 days.
The 110-meter-long historic Ortahisar Castle, known as the biggest fairy chimney in the Cappadocia region and closed to visits nine years ago because of the danger of collapse, has been reopened to visitors following restoration works.
Ortahisar district our guide said that they had been working to open the castle to visits for two years, and experts from the Middle East Technical University had carried out seismic measurements for six months in the castle and cracks had been filled with a special material the Ortahisar Castle had been used by various civilizations as a shelter, adding, “The castle, which is a typical example of unique formations in Cappadocia, is the longest fairy chimney in the region. The castle is overlooking the whole region thanks to its location. There is also the opportunity to photograph the Uçhisar Castle, valleys, fairy chimneys and Mount Erciyes from this point.”
He said that with the opening of the castle, the tourism share of Ortahisar would be greater as it would become an alternative visiting area. The mayor said that 4,000 tourists had visited the castle in 23 days after the opening, adding, “This is above what we expected.
We believe that it will increase more. We also have started work to open the Ishak Pasa Castle to tourism in our district. Because of rock falls from the castle, historic settlements next to it were also remaining idle. Now this danger has been removed and touristic places will open there since there is high demand.”