Mustafapaşa (Sinasos): Greek mansions, churches and a slow village

Mustafapaşa is the village on the Ürgüp side of the region that used to be called Sinasos, known for the carved stonework of its Greek mansions and for its churches. Our catalogue lists 4 hotels here: 2 in the cave category and 2 small hotels. It is a village to walk slowly, not a place with a long list of sights, and the hotel records show a quieter profile than Göreme’s: no balloon view ticked at any of the four, but three airport transfers. This guide sets out the village, the four records and the distances they state; it has no prices or opening times.

From Sinasos to Mustafapaşa

Sinasos was a largely Greek Orthodox village. The community lived here until the 1924 population exchange; today the village is known as Mustafapaşa. What remains of that time is built in stone: tall mansions with carved door frames and window surrounds, built for the families who lived here. The stone is the same soft tuff that is carved into rooms elsewhere in the region, but here it is cut and laid as buildings rather than hollowed out, which is why the Cave Art Cappadocia record speaks of ten rooms in restored historic stone buildings.

Churches and the museum

Mustafapaşa has two churches that visitors usually mention: the Church of Constantine and Helena, which the Nujel’m record calls the Eleni Church, and the Church of Ayios Vasilios. Whether they are open, and when, changes; check the official source and ask your hotel. The Nujel’m Cappadocia page also names the Cappadocia Museum of Art and History and says both it and the Eleni Church are about a 15-minute walk away, which is the only walking distance to a sight that any Mustafapaşa record gives.

Walking the village

Most of what Mustafapaşa offers is the walk itself: stone facades, narrow lanes and views across the valley. Cave Art’s address is Manastır Street (“Monastery Street”). Without a car you can see the centre on foot; for anything beyond it you will want a taxi or a tour. The hotel records name no walking distance to cafes or restaurants; two of the four tick a restaurant, so ask the others where to eat. Before booking, ask three things: how far the hotel is from the centre on foot, where guests eat in the evening, and whether the airport transfer is paid and which airport it serves (Yılkı’s record, for example, measures only the distance to Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport, not to Kayseri’s).

The four hotels in the catalogue

Hotel	Type	Rooms	Breakfast included	24-hour reception	Airport transfer	Restaurant	Distances in the record
Cave Art Cappadocia	small hotel	10	yes	no	yes	yes	none
Konak Bezirhane Cave Otel	cave	23	yes	yes	no	no	about 8 minutes from Göreme National Park
Nujel’m Cappadocia	small hotel	18	yes	yes	yes	no	15-minute walk to museum and church; 5.5 km to Göreme National Park
Yılkı Cave Suites	cave	not recorded	not ticked; buffet in highlights	no	yes	yes	Zelve 17 km; Uçhisar Castle 20 km; airport 52 km

All four list parking. Two list a hot tub or jacuzzi (Konak Bezirhane and Yılkı); Yılkı is the only hotel in the whole catalogue with an indoor pool and also lists a spa; Nujel’m lists heated floors; Cave Art lists family rooms and room service. Cave Art describes ten rooms in restored cave, arched and stone spaces with a panoramic terrace; Konak Bezirhane puts a bathroom and jacuzzi in every room and is the only hotel in the catalogue to list luggage storage.

How it differs from Göreme

The comparison with Göreme (43 hotels) is mostly one of scale and amenities. Mustafapaşa has 4 hotels, the largest with 23 rooms, and none ticks a balloon view, against 27 of the 43 in Göreme. Three of the four list an airport transfer, against 17 of 43 in Göreme, and two list a 24-hour reception, against 4. The cost of the quiet is distance: every sight the records measure is by road, and Yılkı’s own page says sightseeing from there means travelling by road rather than on foot. For the balloon launch fields, see the Göreme village guide.

Day trips from Mustafapaşa

Mustafapaşa sits on the Ürgüp side of the region. Ortahisar and Ürgüp are the nearest towns in the catalogue: see the Ortahisar guide and the Ürgüp, Mustafapaşa and Ortahisar guide. Further out, the rock churches and dolls of Soğanlı Valley are usually combined with a Mustafapaşa visit. The 3-day itinerary places Mustafapaşa on the afternoon of day 3.

Where to stay in Mustafapaşa

Four hotels, taken from their records and not ranked. Nujel’m Cappadocia is the one whose record gives a walk to the village’s museum and church, with 18 rooms and heated floors. Cave Art Cappadocia has ten rooms in restored stone buildings and a valley-view terrace. Konak Bezirhane Cave Otel has 23 rooms with a jacuzzi in each. Yılkı Cave Suites has a spa and an indoor pool. All four are in the Mustafapaşa section of the hotel list. After choosing, you can book through gocappadocia.com, the regional booking platform created through the combined efforts of 175 Cappadocia hoteliers, with a best-price guarantee; this guide takes no commission.