The summit platform
Ortahisar's stone houses, the Balkan valley and Mount Erciyes in one sweep after a ten-minute climb.
W. Bulach — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
A single plug of volcanic rock, about 86 metres high and honeycombed with tunnels, chambers and dovecotes, stands in the middle of a small town like a tower somebody forgot to finish. This is the 'middle castle' that gives Ortahisar its name, used since Byzantine times as a refuge, a lookout and a dwelling carved storey upon storey. It is the less famous sibling of Uçhisar Castle, and that is precisely the case for going: nearly the same breadth of view, a fraction of the crowd, and a cheaper ticket. The climb is the whole experience. The rock was shut in 2004 after cracks in its flanks raised the risk of rockfalls and it was declared a hazard zone; a restoration contract was only signed in 2011, and it reopened to visitors in 2013 with new steel stairs and railings. The route to the summit threads through narrow passages with low ceilings and steep steps, and in places near-vertical ladders that need both hands. Even so, anyone reasonably fit is up in about ten minutes, and the reward opens out at the top: the town's old stone houses at your feet, the Balkan valley stretching away, and snow-capped Mount Erciyes on the horizon. At dawn the platform becomes a front-row seat for the balloons, but note the gate does not open before eight. The town earns another half hour. Its caves cut into the volcanic tuff hold a steady chill all year, so tonnes of lemons and oranges trucked up from the Mediterranean are stored here alongside local potatoes and apples; you will spot the little ventilation shafts in the hillsides. In the centre the small Ortahisar Culture Museum, an ethnographic collection in a 1916 mansion, lays out rural Cappadocian life. And the classic photograph of the castle is taken not from it but from the viewing terrace on the far side of town, where the whole rock rises clear above the rooftops. A plain word for families: this is no place for a pushchair, nor for anyone uneasy in tight spaces or with heights, and children under seven or eight are better left with an adult at the cafés around the gate. In August the rock is fully exposed to the sun, so climb early; in winter snow can coat the metal steps and make them slippery, and the gate may shut an hour earlier. The ticket is sold at the gate, roughly a hundred lira; bring cash in case, and it is not covered by the Museum Pass.
Ortahisar's stone houses, the Balkan valley and Mount Erciyes in one sweep after a ten-minute climb.
Rock-cut cold stores beneath the town keep Mediterranean citrus fresh for months.
The classic shot of the castle is taken from the opposite side of town, not from its top.
Tepebaşı Meydanı, Ortahisar centre, Ürgüp, Nevşehir
Uçhisar sits higher and its view over Pigeon Valley and the balloons is the famous one, so on a first visit to Cappadocia start there. Ortahisar is quieter and cheaper and the climb itself, with its ladders and tunnels, is more fun; it is the better pick if you hate crowds or are on a return trip. With small children or older relatives choose Uçhisar, whose steps are far easier.
Not really: the gate opens at eight, and on most summer mornings the balloons have landed by then. For a high viewpoint use the free, always-open terrace across town, or head for the hills above Göreme.
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