Niğde (Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District. Its population is 170,511 (2022). It lies at an elevation of 1276 m. The city is small with plenty of green space and gardens around the houses. Its people generally tend to be religious and conservative. Medieval monuments are scattered about the centre of the town, especially around the market place. The nearest airport is Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) which is 90.6 km (50.6 miles) away.

History

Niğde is located near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from Kayseri (ancient Caesarea Mazaca) to the Cilician Gates and thence to the Mediterranean coast. The area has been settled by Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Romans, Byzantines and Turks. In the early Middle Ages, it was known as Magida, and was settled by the remaining inhabitants of nearby Tyana after it fell to the Arabs in 708/709. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia. After the fall of the Sultanate of Rûm (of which it had been one of the principal cities), Niğde was captured by Anatolian beyliks such as the Karaman Beylik and Eretna Beylik. Passing through in the 14th century, the explorer Ibn Battuta reported it ruinous. It did not pass into Ottoman hands until 1467. According to the Ottoman population statistics of 1914, the sanjak of Niğde, then part of the Konya Vilayet, had a total population of 291,117, consisting of 227,100 Muslims, 58,312 Greeks, 4,935 Armenians and 769 Protestants. The demographics of the town of Niğde, which was part of the Niğde sanjak, consisted of 52.754 Muslims, 26.156 Greeks, 1.149 Armenians and 137 Protestants. Most of the Christian population of late 19th-century Niğde lived in the Eski Saray Mahallesi near the Sungur Bey Mosque where the remains of two large stone churches still survive in a neglected condition.

Republican era

More recent immigrants include Turks from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, who were settled here by the Turkish authorities in the 1950s and 1960s. The opening of Niğde University in 1992 started to bring more cultural and social amenities to what was at the time essentially a large town with a rather rural feel to it.

Geography

Niğde consists of 26 neighbourhoods: Alaaddin, Ahipaşa, A.Kayabaşı, Balhasan, Burhan, Çayır, Dere, Efendibey, Esenbey, Eskisaray, İlhanlı, Kale, Nar, Saruhan, Selçuk, Sırali, Sungur, Ş.Süleyman, Şahinali, Şehitler, Yenice, Y.Kayabaşı, İnönü, Fertek, Kumluca and Hamamlı.

Climate

Niğde has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk, Trewartha: BS), bordering on a temperate continental climate (Köppen: Dsa, Trewartha: Dc). Niğde has hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.

Geology

The town is located between the volcanic Melandiz Mountains, which include the Mount Hasan Stratovolcano near the city of Aksaray to the north, and the Niğde Massif to the south-southeast. The massif is a metamorphic rock dome that contains abandoned antimony and iron mines. Several marble quarries are currently being used to dig out the pure white crystalline marble of the massif.

Sightseeing

In town

Around town

Gallery

Notable people