Selime Monastery

Overview

Selime Monastery is a group of churches, halls and rooms carved into the rock where the Ihlara Valley ends, in the Güzelyurt district of Aksaray. Its cathedral is the largest cathedral building in Cappadocia, and it dates from between the 8th and 11th centuries. Because the top of the complex was cut as a fortress, it is also known as the castle monastery, Selime Kale Manastırı. Fairy chimneys rise from the slope around it, above the village of Selime. With a guide, join our Güzelyurt tour.

Where Selime Monastery stands

The monastery looks down on the village of Selime, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the center of Aksaray. Upstream, the canyon of the Melendiz Çayı runs back past Yaprakhisar and Belisırma to the village of Ihlara. So Selime is the natural end of a walk through the Ihlara Valley. The tomb of Selime Sultan stands just opposite the monastery, and an old caravan road passes below. The village belongs to the same district as the old town of Güzelyurt.

Quick facts

• Good for: rock-cut churches, Byzantine frescoes, a view over the valley
• Best combined with: the Ihlara Valley, Güzelyurt

The History of Selime Monastery

A cathedral and a fortress in the rock

First, builders carved the complex out of the soft rock between the 8th and 11th centuries. Most of its spaces were made as churches, and their forms carry the marks of Byzantine art. At the top, they shaped the rock into a fortress, and its walls and lookout posts can still be seen. Since the clergy of the region were trained here, the monastery held an important place in the valley. At the end of the 10th and the start of the 11th century, painters covered the church walls with frescoes.

Inside Selime Monastery

The cathedral church

The cathedral is cut into the rock on two floors. Inside, two rows of columns divide it into three aisles, like a basilica. Of all the churches in the region, it is the only one with this three-aisled basilica plan. Next, look at the walls, where the paintings show the Ascension of Christ, the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi. Further scenes follow, such as the Baptism and the Dormition, while portraits of bishops stand beside them.

The kitchen and the rooms

Beside the churches lie the rooms where the community lived and worked. Because its roof rises to a point like a pyramid, the kitchen stands out. Inside, small niches in the walls once held oil lamps to light the room. So the monastery was a place to live as well as to pray.

The view from the top

After that, you climb from the lower rooms through the rock-cut spaces to the top of the complex. Up there, the old fortress walls look out over green fields and fairy chimneys. Below you, the Ihlara Valley stretches back toward Belisırma. Our Ihlara Valley hike walks the whole canyon and ends here.

Visiting Selime Monastery

How to visit Selime Monastery

Selime lies about 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Aksaray, and public transport runs from the city center every hour during the day. Still, we often come at the end of a walk through the valley, with a car waiting at Belisırma or Selime. So wear good walking shoes for the rock paths and steps. Ask us to confirm the hours; we end your walk through the Ihlara Valley at Selime.

Before you go

First, on our tour, you begin the day in Derinkuyu Underground City. You walk the Ihlara Valley along the river, and you stop for lunch at Belisırma, on a wooden platform over the water. Local guides call this day the Cappadocia green tour. In the afternoon, you drive on to Selime and climb past the church, the kitchen and the great hall.

Updated: October 27, 2026.

Seeing Selime Monastery with Us

Would you like to end a day in the valley on top of a rock-cut monastery? Our South Cappadocia tour brings you through the Ihlara Valley to Selime Monastery in the afternoon. Selime closes the day after the valley walk; send us the date.