Göreme Open-Air Museum hosts over 1.18 million visitors in 2025

NEVŞEHİR

The Göreme Open-Air Museum, one of Türkiye’s most popular cultural sites, attracted 1,187,016 visitors in 2025, according to official figures.

Carved into volcanic rock and featuring churches, monasteries and chapels adorned with vivid wall paintings, the museum continues to draw strong interest from both domestic and international tourists, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Receiving visitors from across the globe, the Göreme Open-Air Museum ranks among the top three most visited museums affiliated with the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Data from the provincial Culture and Tourism Directorate shows that the museum recorded 55,180 visitors in January, 41,404 in February, 70,516 in March, 129,533 in April, 152,122 in May, 110,234 in June, 93,232 in July, 115,702 in August, 126,265 in September, 148,775 in October, 96,555 in November and 47,498 in December.

The total number of visitors in 2025 rose from 1,133,858 in 2024.

Tour guide Yunus Kervan told state-run Anadolu Agency that the Göreme Open-Air Museum is considered the heart of Cappadocia and one of the region’s most significant tourism centers.

Noting that the area attracts visitors from all over the world due to its historical sites, Kervan said the museum’s importance stems from the fact that the frescoes in its early monasteries and churches date back to the original 11th and 12th centuries.

“There are about 12 churches here, six of which are open to visitors, including the Saint Basil, Barbara, Apple, Serpent and Dark churches. The most important one is the Dark Church, named because sunlight did not enter it for a long time, allowing the paintings to remain well preserved,” he said, adding that most visitors come from China and South Korea, alongside tourists from other parts of East Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Another tour guide, Mustafa Soner Menekşe, said the museum’s rock-carved structures, created centuries ago from volcanic tuff, continue to fascinate visitors.

Emphasizing the museum’s historical significance, Menekşe noted that it is located within a national park area that contains works from the Byzantine, Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. “When people come here, they see how different communities once lived together in harmony. We explain in detail how Christians and Muslims coexisted, and as visitors learn more about the site, they grow to appreciate it even more,” he said.