The term “open-air museum” is often used to refer to villages, neighborhoods, or cities full of monuments. But in the case of Cappadocia, the Göreme Open Air Museum is a visitable enclosure clearly defined. And although to move between its ‘rooms’ or points of interest, you have to walk outdoors, the works of art are in its spectacular interior spaces: the fairy chimneys. Here we explain everything you need to know if you wish to visit this special place.
What is and Where is the Göreme Open Air Museum
The Göreme Open Air Museum is better known by its English and Turkish names: Göreme Open Air Museum or Göreme Açık Hava Müzesi. As its name suggests, it’s very close to this Cappadocian town (Göreme), which is itself the epicenter of a larger National Park and an extensive UNESCO World Heritage site, combining nature and art.
About 1 km from the village of Göreme is an interesting concentration of fairy chimneys that, from the early centuries of Christianity, were used by anchorite monks as a place of retreat. Over time, in the Byzantine era, it eventually became an entire community with services around rock-cut monasteries and churches. Fortunately for travelers, many of them are preserved in magnificent condition.
Since 1967, the Göreme Open Air Museum was created integrating the main churches and monasteries located inside fairy chimneys, thus combining the beauty of the interior pictorial decoration and that of these rock formations resulting from differential erosion.
Visitable Spaces in the Museum
The open-air enclosure of the museum encompasses about ten places of worship, including churches and monasteries. This is the complete list of all the spaces, which you can visit in any order you wish:
- Chapel of Saint Basil: dedicated to one of the most important saints of Cappadocia, native to Caesarea (today’s Kayseri)
- Chapel of Saint Barbara: with various mural paintings, in a characteristic ochre tone
- Apple Church: with frescoes depicting biblical scenes
- Snake Church, which is actually the dragon slain by Saint George, also native to Cappadocia
- Isimsiz Sapel / Pantocrator Chapel: also known as the Crusaders‘ church, due to the Maltese crosses
- Dark Church: it is perhaps the most beautifully decorated with its frescoes, and requires an additional fee to enter, but it’s worth it
- Chapel of Saint Catherine: with frescoes of this saint and Saint George, among others
- Sandals Church: with footprints on its entrance ramp, reminiscent of Jesus’ ascent to Mount Calvary
- Buckle Church: underground and with interesting frescoes about the life of Jesus
- Nuns’ Monastery: former female convent, of which only a refectory and scattered frescoes remain
Practical Information for Visiting the Museum
If you plan to visit the museum, you should keep in mind the following practical information:
- Hours: open every day. In high season (April to October), from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. In low season (November to March), from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The ticket office closes 45 minutes before (at 6:15 PM and 4:15 PM, respectively)
- Price: €20
- Address: Gaferli Mah. Müze Cad. Göreme Açıkhava Müzesi Bilet Gişesi Göreme/NEVŞEHİR
- Important note on accessibility: To move from one point to another, it is necessary to walk along prepared trails and stairs that overcome the elevation difference. The terrain’s orography and the unique location of the temples mean that not all spaces have good accessibility for people with reduced mobility
