Niğde travel guide

Niğde (Turkish pronunciation: [ni:de]) is a city and is located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District.

This area has been settled at least since 8000 BC. It has agriculture and silver and tin mines, and was a Hittite town to about 800 BC; they named it Nakita or Nahita from the Persian goddess Anahita. A string of civilisations and armies passed through and the city's heyday was the Seljuk era of the 13th century. Yet by the 14th century it was in ruins, but gradually rebuilt under the Ottomans from 1467. Until the First World War it had large populations of Armenians and Greeks: here and there stand the remains of their churches.

Getting in

A daily train Erciyes Ekspresi takes 2 hr 20 min from Kayseri and continues south to Adana. The direct train from Ankara has been suspended for years. Niğde Garı the railway station is east side of the castle and city centre. Buses from Istanbul run every two hours, taking 21 hours via Gebze, Izmit, Adapazari and Ankara, for a fare in 2023 of 330 TL. They continue to Adana, another hour. Operators on the route include Metroturizm and Flixbus. Buses from Kayseri run every hour or two and take 1 hr 45 min. Operators include Ali Osman Ulusoy, Suha and Oz Sivas.

Getting around

The dolmuş to Bor runs every hour or two and takes 20 min. Niğde Otogarı the old bus station is used by local transport. Erciyes Ekspresi also calls at Bor, Kemerhisar, and Ulukışla.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.