Mustafapaşa Village, the Center of Cappadocia University, Became the “Best Tourism Village”
Mustafapaşa Village, where the headquarters of Cappadocia University is located, was declared the “Best Tourism Village” by the World Tourism Organization.
While the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) uses the opportunities brought by tourism with the program launched in May 2021; It identified the best tourism villages that also preserve their communities, local customs and cultural heritage. The goal of the organization is to identify tourism villages in rural areas around the world that adopt innovative approaches to tourism and are compatible with the Sustainable Development Goals.
With its “Best Tourism Villages” program, UNWTO aims to emphasize the power of tourism in rural development and increasing the welfare of local communities and to encourage the elimination of inequalities of opportunities faced by women, youth and disadvantaged groups with the contribution of tourism. It is underlined that by focusing on tourism, it is possible to protect the natural environment, biological and cultural diversity, local values, and lifestyle of the villages, including local dishes, and turn them into economic value.
Mustafapaşa “Best Tourism Village”
Mustafapaşa Village in Ürgüp, where the headquarters of Cappadocia University (KÜN) is located, was chosen as one of the “Best Tourism Villages” in the world by UNWTO. The village, formerly known as Sinasos, was founded in A.D. It stands out with its local culture and traditions, with around 200 registered buildings dating back to the 9th century, the Middle Ages (Byzantine), the Ottoman and the early Republican Period. Mustafapaşa looks like a unique cultural mosaic that manages to blend the common life culture of non-Muslim and Muslim people from the period before the Lausanne Exchange with the richness of the Macedonian immigrants who came with the exchange.
Cappadocia University and Mustafapaşa
Cappadocia University, Turkey’s only higher education institution located in a central “village”, was founded in Mustafapaşa in 2005. KÜN, which has been structuring and developing in line with sustainable development goals since the day it was founded, provides services for the development and development of the region in many areas such as the preservation of Mustafapaşa’s cultural heritage through restoration, in-village environmental regulations, facade designs, protection of stray animals, renewable energy use, waste management program, programs to reduce water use and food waste, local employment creation, lifelong learning opportunities, granting regional education scholarships, and the development of hot air ballooning.
Preparing the history of Mustafapaşa buildings together with the local residents, opening the buildings in the village to tourism by signboarding them, and establishing the Mustafapaşa portal (mustafapasakapadokya.org) are just some of the University’s efforts towards the sustainable development of the village. The University, which is a corporate member of the World Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), carries out studies in the field of sustainable tourism with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.
Mustafapaşa Protects Cultural Heritage
The natural and cultural assets of Mustafapaşa are protected by the “Mustafapaşa Conservation Development Plan”. New construction and developments are limited in the village. The village is under the control of the Cappadocia Area Directorate. The Presidency is also carrying out a tourism project to protect the Mustafapaşa Monastery Valley, which looks like a small “model” of the Cappadocia Region, with its fairy chimney formations, ancient rock churches from the 8th and 9th centuries, agricultural activities and examples of traditional life, and to bring it into tourism. Cappadocia Tourism Region Infrastructure Service Union and Ahiler Development Agency provide resources for conservation, tourism development and infrastructure development projects in the village.
Mustafapaşa Culture, Tourism and Promotion Association supports the sustainability of the local lifestyle and production style while coordinating local efforts to promote Mustafapaşa on international and national platforms.
