Aksaray is a province in Central Anatolia (İç Anadolu), Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Cappadocia region. It is best known for the Ihlara Valley, a 14-kilometre canyon lined with Byzantine rock-cut churches and frescoes, the towering Selime Monastery, and the Sultanhanı Caravanserai, the largest Seljuk han in Turkey. With the volcanic cone of Hasan Mountain on the horizon, the salt expanse of Lake Tuz to the north, and Göreme roughly an hour east, Aksaray serves as an uncrowded gateway to Cappadocia.
Aksaray sits on the central Anatolian plateau at the western edge of Cappadocia, where layers of history are stacked from the Neolithic to the present. Farming began here around 8350 BC at Asikli Hoyuk, and Bronze Age Acemhoyuk grew rich on the Assyrian trade. The classical town of Garsaura, renamed Archelais by Cappadocia's last king, became a Roman colonia, while under Byzantium the tuff cliffs of the Ihlara and Monastery valleys were carved into hundreds of frescoed cave churches and monasteries such as Selime. After the Seljuk arrival following Manzikert in 1071, Kilic Arslan II rebuilt the city as Aksaray, the 'White Palace', a royal town whose 1229 Sultanhani caravanserai still anchors the Konya road and whose leaning Red Minaret crowns the centre. The Karamanids added the Zinciriye Medrese before the Ottomans took the city in 1470, and the 1924 population exchange and the creation of the modern province in 1989 brought the story into the Turkish Republic.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Aksaray.
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1
Neolithic Asikli Hoyuk
One of Central Anatolia's earliest farming villages thrives on the Melendiz stream near Kizilkaya, with roof-entered mudbrick houses and some of the world's earliest evidence of sheep and goat domestication
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2
Bronze Age Acemhoyuk
Acemhoyuk near Lake Tuz becomes a major palace and trading centre during the Assyrian Trade Colony period, producing fine ivory and crystal artefacts
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3
Hittite Anatolia
The region around present-day Aksaray falls within the orbit of the Hittite kingdom of central Anatolia, later passing into a Phrygian and Tabal cultural sphere
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4
Garsaura becomes Archelais
The Cappadocian town of Garsaura is refounded and renamed Archelais by Archelaus, the last king of Cappadocia, and later becomes a Roman colonia and bishopric
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5
Byzantine Cave Monasticism
Christian communities carve and decorate hundreds of rock churches in the Ihlara and Monastery valleys, making the region a major centre of Byzantine Cappadocian monasticism
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6
Battle of Manzikert and Seljuk Arrival
After the Seljuk victory at Manzikert, Turkish rule spreads across Anatolia, and Garsaura passes to the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate
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7
Kilic Arslan II Rebuilds the City
The Seljuk sultan Kilic Arslan II rebuilds and fortifies the town, renaming it Aksaray, the 'White Palace', and develops it as a favoured Seljuk royal city
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8
Sultan Han Caravanserai Built
Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I builds the Sultanhani caravanserai west of Aksaray, the largest Seljuk han in Anatolia, securing the Aksaray-Konya trade road
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9
Kirkdamalti Church Frescoes
The St George (Kirkdamalti) church above Belisirma is painted, its donor inscription recording Byzantine Christian patronage continuing under Seljuk and Mongol overlordship
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10
Zinciriye Medrese Founded
The Zinciriye theological college is built during Karamanid rule, a fine example of Anatolian medrese architecture and later Aksaray's first museum
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11
Ottoman Conquest
After a long struggle with the Karamanids, the Ottoman commander Ishak Pasha incorporates Aksaray into the Ottoman Empire; many inhabitants are resettled in Istanbul
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12
Population Exchange
The Greek Orthodox communities of Gelveri (Guzelyurt) and surrounding villages leave in the Greco-Turkish population exchange, ending centuries of Cappadocian Greek life
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13
Aksaray Becomes a Province
Aksaray is separated from Nigde to become a province of the Turkish Republic in its own right, with the city as its capital
Historical eras
The chapters of Aksaray's past.
Neolithic and Bronze Age
Early farming villages at Asikli Hoyuk and palace-era settlement at Acemhoyuk on the plains around Lake Tuz
Hellenistic and Roman
Garsaura is renamed Archelais by the last Cappadocian king and becomes a Roman colonia and bishopric
Byzantine
Hundreds of rock churches and monasteries are carved into the Ihlara and Monastery valleys
Anatolian Seljuk
The town is rebuilt as Aksaray, a Seljuk royal city, and the Sultanhani caravanserai is raised in 1229
Karamanid
The Karamanid emirate endows the city with the Zinciriye Medrese and other religious buildings
Ottoman
Ishak Pasha brings Aksaray into the Ottoman Empire; it becomes a quiet provincial centre
Republic and Modern
The 1924 population exchange empties the Greek villages; Aksaray becomes a separate province in 1989
Historical sites
Places where Aksaray's past comes alive.
Sultanhani Caravanserai (Sultan Han)
The largest Seljuk caravanserai in Turkey, commissioned in 1229 by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I on the trade road to Konya. A monumental carved marble gateway leads into a vast walled courtyard with a raised mosque kiosk at its centre and a tall covered hall beyond, rebuilt after a 13th-century fire.
Where: Sultanhani town, 40 km west of Aksaray
Admission: TRY 100 / about €2 / approx $2.20
Selime Monastery (Selime Katedrali)
The largest rock-cut monastery in Cappadocia, carved over several storeys into the tall tuff cliffs at the northern end of the Ihlara Valley. The complex includes a basilica-plan church, a kitchen, stables and monastic living quarters, and reflects the height of Byzantine cave monasticism in the region.
Where: Selime village, Guzelyurt District
Admission: TRY 230 / about €10 / approx $5; included with combined Ihlara ticket
Kirkdamalti Church (St George Church)
A late-13th-century rock church above Belisirma dedicated to St George, whose donor inscription dates its frescoes to 1283-1298 and depicts a local patron presenting a model of the church to the saint. It is a rare record of Byzantine Christian patronage surviving under Seljuk and Mongol overlordship.
Where: Belisirma, Ihlara Valley, Guzelyurt District
Admission: Included with the Ihlara Valley ticket (about TRY 340)
Egri Minare (Red Minaret)
A tall, leaning 13th-century minaret of red brick beside the small Red Minaret Mosque, built during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad. Foundation settlement gave it a pronounced tilt, earning it the nickname 'Aksaray's Leaning Tower of Pisa'; it was reinforced with steel ties in the 1970s to prevent collapse.
Where: Aksaray city centre
Admission: Free
Zinciriye Medrese
A theological college built in 1336 under the Karamanids, with a carved stone portal and an open courtyard ringed by domed student cells. It housed Aksaray's first museum collection from 1969 until the modern museum opened, and remains a fine surviving example of Anatolian medrese design.
Where: Aksaray city centre
Admission: Free
Asikli Hoyuk
An Aceramic Neolithic settlement mound on the Melendiz stream, among the oldest known villages in Central Anatolia. Excavations have revealed roof-entered mudbrick houses, early animal domestication, and what is claimed as the earliest known trepanned human skull, with a protective shelter and signage for visitors.
Where: Kizilkaya, Gulagac District, 25 km southeast of Aksaray
Admission: Free
Museums
Curated collections that tell Aksaray's story.
Aksaray Museum (Aksaray Muzesi)
The provincial archaeology museum, opened in 2014, displaying finds from Asikli Hoyuk, Acemhoyuk and the wider region and housing Turkey's only dedicated mummy section, with human, infant and even cat mummies from the rock churches dated between the 10th and 13th centuries.
Hours: Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00; closed Mondays
Admission: TRY 60 / about €1.30 / approx $1.30; free with Museumkart
Zinciriye Medrese
A 1336 Karamanid theological college with a carved stone portal and domed cells around an open courtyard, which served as Aksaray's first museum from 1969 before the collection moved to the modern museum building.
Hours: Daytime, generally daily
Admission: Free
Asikli Hoyuk Open-Air Site
An open-air Neolithic excavation with a protective shelter and interpretive signage, where visitors can view the mudbrick houses of one of Anatolia's oldest villages on the Melendiz stream.
Hours: Daytime; open-access archaeological site
Admission: Free
Historical tours
Guided experiences that bring history to life.