Mustafapaşa, Nevşehir, Türkiye

Visit duration: 1 hr 30 min Editorial visit time estimate

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

About Mustafapaşa

Mustafapaşa, formerly Sinasos, is a small town in the Ürgüp District, 5 km from Ürgüp and 27 km from Nevşehir. In the 19th century it was a mainly Cappadocian Greek settlement; many of its people moved to Constantinople and prospered as seafood and caviar traders, and the money they sent home built the grand mansions that still stand. In 1924 its whole Greek population had to leave for Greece in the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source

What's inside

Among the town's many stone houses, the Old Greek House, now a restaurant, keeps one of the secular murals typical of Ürgüp and Mustafapaşa. In the centre stands the large 19th-century Church of St Helena and Constantine, with a grapevine carved around its entrance, occasionally used for concerts. The rock-cut Church of St Basil was recut and repainted in the 19th century. More rock-cut churches line the valley, reachable on foot, including the Monastery of St Nicholas, restored in 2012; the nearby Gomeda Valley has the frescoed early 10th-century Church of the Holy Apostles.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source