İnönü Mağaraları

About İnönü Mağaraları

The İnönü Mağaraları (İnönü Caves) are a group of rock-cut caves on the banks of the Kirmir Çayı at a spot called İnönü in Güdül, a small district north-west of Ankara. Güdül is not one of this guide's districts, so the caves are filed here under neighbouring Beypazarı. The caves were made by hollowing out the inside of the hillside, and the Güdül district governorship, which describes them on its website, compares them with the cave dwellings of Ürgüp and Göreme in Cappadocia. Rooms rise floor above floor, linked by staircases cut into the rock, and with a church at its centre the complex resembles a village community. As the river has undercut the hill over time, parts of the rock face have broken away, leaving some of the stairways to the upper levels exposed in the open, which gives the cliff its striking look. The governorship believes the caves date from the Byzantine period, though it notes that some sources suggest the rock caves along the valley were already in use in Hittite times. The wider Güdül area shows signs of settlement since prehistory and is thought to have been held by the Phrygians in the 8th century BC; pilgrimage marks have been found at cave entrances in the İnönü area, linked to the spread of Christianity under Roman rule. No visiting hours or entry arrangements are published, so check access locally before setting out, and take care on the worn rock-cut steps.