Entered via a tunnel, emerging into the large square courtyard from which numerous rooms can be accessed, the Eski Gümüşler Monastery (adult/child €3/free) is simply breathtaking.
The 11th- or 12th-century frescoes for which the monastery is famous adorn the church directly opposite the entrance. Amid four immense pillars still bearing patterned decoration, the enormous and well-preserved images include – to your left when you enter – an astonishingly clear Nativity scene. Note also the smiling Virgin Mary in the niche left of the apse.
Once you've drunk it all in, take the metal staircase up to a smaller room above, which contains a more damaged fresco depicting a scene of people and animals. It's thought this may be an illustration of Aesop's Fables.
The other rooms accessible from the courtyard contain no frescoes, but do have bread ovens, wineries, storage jars and tombs that offer a window on daily life in the monastery. There's also a surprisingly extensive underground complex. It's much smaller than the Kaymaklı Underground City and Derinkuyu Underground City, but not dissimilar.
Eski Gümüşler Monastery sprawls along the base of a cliff about 10km northeast of Niğde.