Gümüşler Monastery

Overview

Gümüşler Monastery is a rock-cut monastery in the town of Gümüşler, 8 km (5 miles) from Niğde, south of the main valleys of Cappadocia. Its rooms open off a deep courtyard carved into the rock, with a church on one side and a two-story underground city on another. Then, inside the church, paintings of the 11th and 12th centuries survive. Upstairs, one room even shows hunting scenes, unknown anywhere else in Cappadocia.

Where the monastery stands

The monastery is cut into a large mass of rock whose face runs for about 1.5 km (1 mile). In the past, people lived all along this face, so the monastery belonged to a wider settlement. Then, in 1973, the site became a protected archaeological site. Today, it lies inside the town, south of the main valleys of Cappadocia. At Gülşehir, see St. Jean Church.

Quick facts

• Good for: Byzantine painting, an underground city, a short visit
• Best combined with: Derinkuyu Underground City, Kaymaklı Underground City

The History of Gümüşler Monastery

A monastery around a courtyard

The rock-cut monasteries of Cappadocia fall into two groups. Some are built around a refectory, while others gather around an open courtyard, and Gümüşler belongs to the second group. First, monks carved it out of the rock between the 8th and 12th centuries. The walls of its courtyard rise as high as 14 m (46 feet). The large room on the north side and the floor of the courtyard served as cemeteries.

What to See at Gümüşler Monastery

The underground city

On the south side of the courtyard, an underground city goes down two stories. So a single visit takes in both a painted church and rooms cut deep into the rock. For the larger underground cities nearby, read our guide to underground cities in Cappadocia.

The church and its painters

Still, the church is the most important building of the complex. Its plan is a closed Greek cross, and four columns, left standing in the rock, carry plaster painted with rosettes. At least three painters worked on its walls. First, in the main apse, Christ sits enthroned with two angels and the symbols of the evangelists. Below, the Deesis shows Mary and the apostles, and in the lowest band stand Church Fathers such as Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus; read about the Cappadocian Fathers. All three came from this region: Basil from Kayseri, one Gregory from Nyssa near Nevşehir and the other from Nazianzus, today Bekarlar near Aksaray.

Then a second painter worked on the north arm of the cross. There you see the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Presentation in the Temple, with John the Baptist and St. Stephen. A third hand painted Mary and the Child with the archangels Gabriel and Michael, beside the door from the inner narthex.

The hunting room

Above the narthex, a room holds the monastery's most unusual paintings. Its walls show hunting scenes and animals, a theme with no other known example in Cappadocia. Ask your guide to show you the way up.

Visiting Gümüşler Monastery

How to visit Gümüşler Monastery

The monastery opens every day, with longer hours from April to October. Entry needs a ticket, and the site has a restroom. By public transport, Gümüşler municipal buses leave the town bus station in Niğde every hour. We arrange your entry to Gümüşler Monastery and add Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı on the same day.

Before you go

So plan a morning here, south of the valleys around Göreme. Afterward, our underground cities tour takes you to Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı. For more painted churches, the Göreme Open-Air Museum is the classic next step.

Updated: October 27, 2026.

Seeing Gümüşler Monastery with Us

Would you like to see the paintings of Gümüşler with your own guide? Our Gümüşler Monastery tour gives you a morning in the courtyard, the church and the hunting room. The hunting room is the last stop of the morning; send us the day, and we will pick you up in Cappadocia.