Avanos Travel Guide
Avanos is one of the significant tourist destinations in the Cappadocia region. It is a district located on the banks of the Kızılırmak River, the longest river in Turkiye. With a history dating back 4000 years, Avanos has been home to the Hittites, Phrygians, Persians, Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans. It is a culturally, artistically, and historically rich town with a diverse range of attractions, including pottery, ceramics, carpet weaving, winemaking, historical monuments, tumuli, Seljuk & Ottoman artifacts, and pigeon lofts.
TURKIYE TRAVEL GUIDESHIKINGCAPPADOCIAHISTORY, ART & CULTURE
12/26/20235 min read
Avanos is the heart of Anatolian pottery, where the art of making pottery with wheels has been alive since the Hittite period. The tradition of thousands of years has been passed down from generation to generation and is still practiced today. In fact, in the old days, a girl would not be given to a man in Avanos if she did not know how to make pottery.
Avanos has a long and rich history, dating back to the Hittite period. The town has been home to many civilizations, including the Hittites, Phrygians, Persians, Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans.
Avanos Travel Guide
Guray Ceramic Museum
The museum offers a glimpse into the development of ceramics in Anatolia from ancient times to the present day. It also houses local ceramics from different geographical regions of Anatolia, providing a comprehensive overview of the development of ceramics in Anatolia.
The museum exhibits ceramics and pottery from the Late Chalcolithic Period, Bronze and Iron Ages, and Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. The structure is built into the rock, covering an area of 1600 square meters, 20 meters below the ground.
You can also make pottery or watch the masters of the ceramic art at work.
Saruhan Caravanserai / Inn
Saruhan Caravanserai, the last caravanserai of the Seljuk Empire, is located 4 kilometers from the Avanos district of Nevşehir.
The caravanserai, which was built in 1249 by II. İzzettin Keykavus, has Seljuk architectural features of the 13th century. It is located on an area of 2,000 square meters and was built to protect the safety of guests' lives and property.
Today, it is used as a congress center where cultural and art events are held. The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony, the only one in the Cappadocia region, is held at the caravanserai. To watch the event, you need to make a reservation.
Zelve Valley Open Air Museum
Zelve Valley Open Air Museum, located between Avanos and Göreme, is one of the places where fairy chimneys are most densely found in Cappadocia.
The Zelve site, consisting of three valleys, was one of the important settlement and religious centers of Christians in the 9th and 13th centuries.
The most important churches in the valley, Balıklı, Üzümlü, and Geyikli, date back to the pre iconoclastic period (728-842). The valley, which was inhabited until 1952, is worth seeing for its monasteries, churches, settlements, as well as tunnels, mills, and glass.
Mapping show at Zelve Valley
The sound and visual show, which starts by telling about the geological formation of the region, tells about the emergence of the human race. It tells you about the first settlers, their living conditions, the Assyrian, Hittite, Persian, and Alexander civilizations, the human and cultural relations in the region chronologically.
It is a show that tells about the dense Christian settlements in the region, monastery life, the Crusades, underground cities, the traces of the Seljuk State and the Ottomans, and the development of the Cappadocia region with the modern Republic.
The content prepared in accordance with the natural texture is presented to the audience with computer programs and multiple projection devices for films and animations.
The show is held with the synchronized work of 14 projection devices located approximately 150 meters away from the place where the reflection will be made.
Paşabağ Ören Yeri
Paşabağı, also known as the Valley of Monks and the Valley of Priests, is located a few kilometers from Avanos, on the way to Zelve. It is a region where hat shaped fairy chimneys are concentrated.
Due to its distance from major settlements and its rugged terrain, it served as a refuge for those seeking seclusion or hiding. In one of the fairy chimneys that served as an important shelter for early Christian monks who preferred an isolated life, there is a chapel where Saint Simeon, a highly respected monk who was declared a saint by the Vatican, lived in retreat for 15 years.
Yamanli Church / Church of Virgin Mary
Dating back to the 2nd century, Yamanli Church is one of the most important churches in the Cappadocia region. It was opened for worship in a ceremony attended by representatives from Avanos Municipality and the Vatican.
Pottery workshops
Hittites learned how to make pottery on wheels and bake them in ovens in 3000 BC, and from then until today, pottery workshops have been continuously operating in Avanos for 5,000 years.
In Avanos, there are around 50 workshops that continue the profession of pottery making as a legacy, working with traditional methods. Most of the workshops, consisting mainly of natural rock-carved caves and stone houses, are concentrated in the center of Avanos. The handcrafted artistic products are offered for sale, and educational workshops are also available for those interested.
The soft and oily-clay soils from the Avanos mountains and Kızılırmak beds are sifted and kneaded thoroughly to turn them into clay, then skillfully shaped on spinning wheels called "Çark." The pots/ceramics are first dried in the sun, then in the shade, and finally carefully baked in ovens fueled with straw and sawdust at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 degrees Celsius.
