Nevsehir

Nevsehir formerly Neapolis and Muskara, is a city and the capital district of Nevsehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. According to the 2010 census, the population of the district is 117,890 of which 85,634 live in the city of Nevsehir.The district covers an area of 535 km2 (207 sq mi) and the town lies at an elevation of 1,224 m (4,016 ft).It lies on the lower slopes of a hill crowned by a ruined citadel dating from the Seljuq period. Other monuments include the mosque Kursunlu Cami, with its attached madrasah (religious school), hospice, and library, built in the early 18th century by Damad Ibrahim Paşa, grand vizier of the Ottoman sultan Ahmed III.

A market for the agricultural products of the region, Nevsehir is linked by road with Ankara, Adana, and Kayseri. The surrounding area is drained by the Kizil River and is a prosperous grain-producing district. Occupying a part of the ancient region of Cappadocia, the area is rich in historical sites, notably the rock-carved churches and monasteries at Oratayzai (Gureme), east of Nevsehir city; several of those sites collectively were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. Hacibektaş, north of Nevsşehir, is said to be the birthplace of Ḥajji Bektash Wali (died before 1295), founder of the influential Bektashi order of dervishes (mystics); it contains the order’s large tekke (monastery).