Things to do in Kırşehir
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kırşehir
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Late April to early June brings warm days, green steppe and spring bird passage at Seyfe Lake.
September to mid October is the other best window, with harvest light and the garden at Kaman at its best.
Summer is hot and dry, often into the low to mid 30s, so sightsee in the morning and evening.
Winter is cold with snow and icy rural roads, when the thermal hotels are most appealing and day trips shrink.
What's on
- Ahilik Week September, week varies by year
The city defining festival at the Ahi Evran complex, honouring master craftsmen in the Ahi tradition.
- Neşet Ertaş commemoration concerts around 25 September
Concerts and remembrance events for Ertas on the anniversary of his death on 25 September 2012.
- Kaman Walnut Festival October
A harvest festival in Kaman for its famous thin shelled walnuts, with local food and folk music.
- Hacıbektaş Commemoration Ceremonies 16-18 August
The great Alevi Bektashi gathering at Hacibektas, 50 km south, which fills the whole corridor.
Best things to do in Kırşehir
Cacabey Medresesi
A Seljuk medrese from 1271 that served as an early astronomy school and is now the emblem of the city centre.
Ahi Evran Kulliyesi ve Cami
The mosque and tomb of Ahi Evran, founder of the Ahi artisan brotherhood that shaped Anatolian town life.
Kırşehir Ahilik Müzesi
The museum that explains how the Ahi brotherhood trained craftsmen and set standards for honest trade.
Neşet Ertaş Müzesi
The life and instruments of Neset Ertas, the defining voice of bozlak folk music from the Anatolian steppe.
Neşet Ertaş Gönül Sultanları Kültür Evi
A mansion museum tracing the line of Anatolian folk poets and musicians down to Neset Ertas himself.
Âşık Paşa Türbesi
The 1332 hilltop tomb of Asik Pasa, an early author of Turkish literature, with a view over the city.
Kırşehir Müzesi
The provincial archaeology and ethnography museum, best paired with the older finds from Kaman Kalehoyuk.
Neşet Ertaş Kültür Merkezi
The city cultural centre where touring folk acts play, and a bozlak night here is the best evening in town.
Where to stay in Kırşehir
Centre
sightseeing stopover, walkers and music
The medrese, Ahi complex, music museums, bazaars and most restaurants are walkable from the central hotels.
Terme
thermal soaking, families and drivers
The big thermal hotels cluster here with pools and hammams, a short taxi ride from every sight in the centre.
Think twice about
- Ankara-Kayseri highway strip and otogar edge
Isolated roadside hotels and empty lots where you need a car for every meal and the evening walk is a highway shoulder.
- Kaman and Mucur as a base for Kırşehir city
Small towns with a thin evening offer, fine for their own day trips but the wrong base for the city sights.
Best restaurants in Kırşehir
Göl Restaurant
A rustic fish restaurant with a beautiful view, and the city special occasion table for seafood.
Zaahide
A steakhouse with Mediterranean leanings, the closest the city comes to a contemporary upmarket dinner.
Ağalar Konağı Kültür Evi Restaurant
A traditional Turkish dinner in a restored mansion culture house, the most atmospheric meal in the centre.
Hilla Gölü Cafe Restaurant
A wooden restaurant in a small park by a little lake, the prettiest casual setting in the city itself.
Aspava Sohretler Restaurant
A big family grill house praised for its Iskender, doner over pide with tomato sauce, butter and yoghurt.
HAN Restoran
A large Turkish grill restaurant chosen night after night by the city itself for kebabs and pide.
Refik Usta
Ankara style leaf beef doner in a no frills centre shop, the cheap lunch local workers queue for.
Meşhur İbo Usta'nın Yeri Et Döner
Meat doner in a small et lokantasi with the warmest cheap eats signal in the city on Google.
Outdoor things to do in Kırşehir
Kaman Kalehöyük Arkeoloji Müzesi
A mound shaped archaeology museum beside a famous Japanese garden, the best day trip in the province.
Mucur Underground City
A small, uncrowded rock cut underground city near the highway, with low passages and a cold interior.
SEYFE GÖLÜ KUŞ CENNETİ
A Ramsar steppe lake for flamingos and passage birds at dawn, fragile and best in spring or autumn.
Kesikköprü Köprüsü
A 13 arch Seljuk bridge from 1248 over the Kizilirmak, paired with the Cacabey caravanserai nearby.
Aşıkpaşa Tabiat Parkı
A steppe woodland nature park of paths and picnic tables where local families spend fine weekends.
Hirfanlı Barajı
A vast reservoir shore for fishing, picnics and sunset skies, reached as a half day drive from the city.
Armas Termal Resort
The fullest thermal day in Terme, with indoor pools, a Turkish bath and treatments in mineral water.
Hacıbektaş Veli Müzesi
The pilgrimage lodge and tomb of Haci Bektas Veli, a moving day trip south toward Cappadocia.
Best hotels in Kırşehir
BIGTHERMAL Spa Resort
The biggest full service thermal resort in the province, with pools, slides and extensive facilities.
Grand Hotel Terme
An established thermal hotel with indoor pools, spa and free breakfast, suited to a two night stay.
Grand Kırşehir Otel
A plainer hotel near the university and the culture centre, the geographic compromise between Terme and centre.
THE ONE HOTEL
A modern centre side hotel with clean, spacious rooms and a decent breakfast for a transit night.
Çingöz Resort Otel
A modest budget resort hotel on the thermal street, earning its place on price and location, not charm.
Berilhan Hotel
A small, friendly, pet friendly budget hotel in the centre with a warm welcome and minimal facilities.
Is Kırşehir expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 3,500 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 7,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Neşet Ertaş Kültür Merkezi: a few days ahead
- Armas Termal Resort: a few days ahead
- Göl Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Ağalar Konağı Kültür Evi Restaurant: a few days ahead
- BIGTHERMAL Spa Resort: weeks ahead
- Grand Hotel Terme: weeks ahead
- Buy Neset Ertas Kultur Merkezi concert tickets the week a folk date is announced, as local audiences book fast.
- Book Terme thermal hotels weeks ahead for Turkish public holidays, school breaks and Ahilik Week in September.
- Arrange a guide or an English speaking driver through your hotel several days ahead, as no walk up tour market exists.
- Check Google Maps status on the morning itself for small museums, which close on Mondays and change hours without notice.
Is Kırşehir safe?
- Emergency number is 112, and the centre is busy and lit into the evening with families in the square.
- Carry a headscarf for tomb and mosque visits, and dress modestly at shrines including Hacibektas.
- Drive rural roads to Seyfe and Hirfanli in daylight, as they are unlit and winter ice on the steppe is serious.
Kırşehir travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not book Kirsehir as a cheap Cappadocia base, as the fairy chimneys are over an hour south and you will commute past them.
- Check the street address before paying, as Grand Hotel Terme and Grand Kirsehir Otel are different properties.
- Ask where your Terme room sits relative to the events lawn, as wedding music can run late in the garden.
- Drop the castle mound and a dry year Seyfe Lake first from a short itinerary, as guides oversell both.
Getting around Kırşehir: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre, where most sights and restaurants sit within about 15 minutes of each other.
- Buses to Ankara run roughly hourly and take about 3 hours, while buses toward Goreme take about 1 hour 35 minutes.
- Rent a car for Kaman, Mucur, Seyfe, Kesikkopru and Hacibektas, which are all car shaped day trips.
- Terme is about 3 to 4 km from the centre, so use city buses, dolmus or cheap taxis rather than walking back at night.
Who Kırşehir suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kırşehir your trip
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