Ortahisar is a large village lying halfway between Göreme and Ürgüp one kilometre from the Nevşehir-Yürgüp highway in the popular tourist region of Cappadocia in Turkey. Ortahisar spreads out in a beautiful valley. The locals call it a small village. Sivrikaya, a huge monolith of rock like a towers in the centre of the village. The whole rock is dotted with passages like a beehive. The inner rocky rooms have been exposed by rock falls that once in the rock. They've been inhabited by people for centuries.
Ortahisar means "Middle Fortress" in Russian. To the top can be reached by staircases stretching past dwellings hollowed out in the rocks. В good weather you can see Mount Erciyes, which rises seventy kilometres away. In the mahalla opposite Yeni one can see the church "Jambazly kilisesi". It's on private property, but its owners do not mind the large number of visitors who come to see the church. The very fact of having a historical landmark in your own backyard may seem surprising, but to the locals, it's just the way things are.
The "Middle Fortress" is characterised by a number of picturesque yet simple structures. The structures in which vegetables and fruit were stored were mostly were mostly two-storeyed. To get to the first floor you have to climb an external staircase, which has no parapet. Buildings constructed in the later period are made of the same hard local stone. The exterior surfaces of the houses are decorated and whitewashed with lime.
Ortahisar Fortress, which is 86 metres high, was closed to visitors six years ago because it was dangerous to be inside the structure. This restriction caused a drop in the level of visits to the region. But now, after the restoration work, which was carried out with the participation of the Ankara University Ankara University and the local government, the fortress has been reopened and holidaymakers can visit it. The city itself also has some picturesque places that are definitely worth a visit.
A typical example of urban architecture can be found among the houses on the edge of the of the fortress. The sides of the valley are dotted with cut-outs and warehouses that are are used to store local produce such as apples, oranges, lemons and potatoes imported from the Mediterranean. Turkey is the land of lemons. In this area still grows almost a quarter of the citrus crop. The smell of citrus can be heard everywhere. Every yard has a mountain of used orange crates, and in a large gorge with breathtaking views - is a vegetable storehouse. If they put lemons, for example, in this high-humidity storehouse, lemons will turn a bright yellow colour and become very juicy. Nearby, huge lorries are loaded with neat boxes.
The village itself has retained its national flavour and charm, being considered one of the most foreigner-friendly places in Cappadocia, without being too "spoilt" by the spirit of profit. The people of Ortahisar are among the most welcoming.
There is life underground in Cappadocia. Here, both in the past and now, rock faces continue to be carved out to create new storage facilities, dwellings and even restaurants. The rapid development of tourism has fuelled the growth of of catering establishments located underground. Locals call them kuzu, which translates to "lamb". Tourists are very fond of this type of restaurants. In them they usually serve spit-cooked lamb meat and show a beautiful folklore show.
The town's buildings are very plain: the buildings are uniform in shape and are almost all flat-roofed. You can still see four-wheeled wagons of small size, with boarded walls, over the over the seats of which an awning is placed to protect the passengers from the sun.
In the valley surrounding the village there are very interesting churches and monasteries. Among them are: the Church of Sarija, the Church of Sambazla, the Church of Tarvansla, the Church of the Balkan Deresi Church and the monastery of Dere Halaci.
In the Yuksel Halicilic carpet weaving farm located in this village, weaves carpets, dyes and spins wool, and demonstrates to tourists the technique of of weaving kherike. There is also a museum of ancient carpets and kilims, a shop selling rare silk carpets, replicas of ancient woollen carpets, traditional kilims.
