Çavuşin
Çavuşin features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Cappadocia. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type village
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Cappadocia Cappadocia guide
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About Çavuşin
An old cliff village bored into a long tuff ridge, home to two rock-cut churches of St John the Baptist and two painted angels bared by a collapsed wall.
Çavuşin is an old cave village in the Avanos District of Nevşehir Province, on the road between Avanos and Göreme, about five kilometres north of Göreme; its 2022 population was 421. The older settlement clings to a large rock ridge visible for miles. Most residents were rehoused in modern homes nearer the main road in the early 1960s, amid fears that the old cliff dwellings might collapse.
The village has two rock-cut churches, both named after St John the Baptist. The church beside the main road has a partly collapsed facade that exposes two huge frescoed angels, and inside carries brightly coloured biblical scenes, including frescoes of the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas that date it closely to 963-969. A second, soot-blackened basilica higher in the old village dates to about the sixth century and is among the oldest churches in the region.
Did you know? The roadside church is dated with rare precision, about 963 to 969, because its frescoes show the emperor Nikephoros Phokas, who was Cappadocian on his mother's side and passed through the region during his reign.
How long is a visit to Çavuşin?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Çavuşin. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Çavuşin worth your time?
Çavuşin is among the 15 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Cappadocia, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Cappadocia
Sources and further reading
Where to check the facts about Çavuşin and read more:
Day 2 of the Cappadocia in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Çavuşin
Preview the Cappadocia tour free in the Gingerguide app.