History of Mustafapaşa

Fairy chimneys, underground cities, Ortahisar Castle… We know that many natural and historic beauties come to mind the moment we say Nevşehir. But had you ever heard of the town of Mustafapaşa, known in earlier times as Sinasos? The Mustafapaşa tourism village, 23 km from the province of Nevşehir and 5 km from the district of Ürgüp, is known —formerly— as “Sinasos”. Sinasos, which today has taken the name Mustafapaşa, was until the 1920s a Cappadocian town of three thousand people, the majority of whom were Greeks. This town, about five kilometres south of Ürgüp, is known today for its unique architecture and its educated and talented people. It was a settlement where Orthodox Greeks and Turks lived together until the population exchange of 1924, with nearly 700 stone mansions. According to a legend told in the region, the Sinasos architects who turned stonework into artistic architecture came from Mardin and the Syrian border.

Although the town's history goes back a very long way, according to the sources obtained, in terms of administration Sinasos had a town council. The places it was attached to were the Ürgüp District Governorship and the Konya Governorship. In church terms it was also attached to the Metropolis of Kayseri, the old capital of Cappadocia. The townspeople consisted of Turks and Greeks. Because Turks and Greeks lived intertwined throughout history in the town and had a great deal in common that bound the two communities together, friendly relations had developed. Most important of all were the shared cultural features between these two communities. Again according to the sources, Sinasos is known to have been a great centre of culture, trade and commerce in the Cappadocia region in the 1800s. Sellers coming from surrounding districts and villages would not leave without selling the goods they brought at the market, and the merchants living in the town would buy the goods of merchants who could not sell theirs, ensuring commercial satisfaction.

It is also seen that Sinasos was an important education centre in these years. The town had a boys' school, a religious college, a girls' school and a library. At the school, Greek students were taught Ancient and Modern Greek, and Turkish students were taught Turkish. In the 1870s, a girls' school was founded through the efforts of the townspeople so that female students could receive a better education. Half of the livelihood of the people of Sinasos came from agriculture, and the other half from the income of those working outside. With the population exchange of 1923, the Greeks living outside Istanbul in the newly founded Republic of Turkey and the Turkish population living within the borders of Greece outside Western Thrace exchanged places. The Turkish population that came to Sinasos through the exchange had lived in the villages of Jerveni and Kastoria (Kesriye) within the borders of Thessaloniki in Greece. Setting out from these villages in Greece, the Turkish population came by sea to the cities of İzmir and Mersin, and from there by road to Sinasos. The name of the town, Sinasos, was changed in the 1920s by decision of the village council of elders and the people, taking the name of Mustafa Pasha, who brought water to the village and had fountains built. This name became official with the establishment of the municipal organisation in 1966. Sinasos, on the other hand, has continued to exist as the ancient name of the town due to the touristic and historic features of the region.

Viticulture, wine production, livestock farming and stonework are at the forefront of the town's economic activities from the past to the present. That Sinasos was once a large settlement can be understood from the fact that it had a large inn and hotel where visitors could stay, two pharmacies, a doctor, a bathhouse, as well as large stone bridges. The town, which is under protection by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism today, was opened to tourism in 1981. With their centuries-old history, 93 registered historic houses and nearly 30 churches and chapels in Mustafapaşa offer a visual feast of history. Honoured as one of the world's best tourism villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mustafapaşa continues to captivate its visitors with its cultural richness, magnificent stone buildings and natural charm.