Niğde sits south of Cappadocia in the drier, more workaday heart of Central Anatolia. It does not have the fairy-chimney drama of Göreme or the easy polish of Ürgüp, but it has a good old centre, several serious medieval monuments, and the feeling of a Turkish city that still belongs mostly to itself.
The compact historic core is the reason to pause. Niğde Castle crowns the hill, while Alaaddin Mosque, Sungur Bey Mosque, and the Niğde Museum put Seljuk, Ilkhanid, and local archaeology within a walk of each other.
The exceptional sight is outside town: Gümüşler Monastery, a rock-cut Byzantine complex with frescoes, cut into the soft stone of a village hill. Add the high outline of the Aladağlar Mountains to the south and Niğde becomes a worthwhile one-day stop for travellers already moving through central Turkey by car or bus.