When I studied the large map at the bus station, a small village called Ibrahimpasa caught my eye. Assuming it might resemble the nearby old Greek village of Mustafapasa, I decided to go and see it for myself.
The bus route required two changes, which I wasn’t keen on, so I negotiated with the taxi drivers waiting at the Göreme bus station. The man in charge—who proudly used the nickname “Black Snake” (it was even printed on his business card)—offered a reasonable round-trip fare and sent his son, who looked newly licensed, to drive me.
As with many local drivers, the ride was lively enough to make me grip the dashboard. I promised myself that after this trip I would take fewer risks—and perhaps get some affairs in order before future adventures.
Arriving in Ibrahimpasa: A Small Village of Cappadocia
The taxi dropped me in the village center. Apart from four elderly men gathered outside a run-down tea shop and a rusty van selling old fruit and vegetables, the streets were empty. Unlike Mustafapasa, Ibrahimpasa felt deserted and free of tourists. I wandered along cobbled lanes between crumbling houses and did not meet another soul.
Ibrahimpasa shares the familiar history of many Anatolian villages. Before the 1920s it hosted both Greek and Turkish communities. Over time most residents left and many homes fell into ruin. Several houses show signs of neglect; in some places I could peer into what once would have been living rooms.
I followed streets with peeling doors, accompanied only by a curious street cat that seemed to lead me toward the valley. At one house I noticed newer, more expensive cars parked behind a high wall and iron gate. That suggested some people may be beginning to restore old houses as second homes for families from larger cities.
The cobbled lanes eventually led to a small bridge spanning the valley. There I met a local man who seemed surprised to see a foreign visitor. He told me the bridge dated from the Ottoman era and mentioned that an old Greek church had been accessible the previous year but is now closed, reflecting the reduced demand for Christian worship sites in the area.
In hindsight, the visit felt somewhat disappointing. Much of Ibrahimpasa is abandoned and what remains appears to be fading quietly. The scene is representative of thousands of small villages across Turkey that have experienced population decline. The only lingering question was whether the village would sustain itself over the coming decades or continue to empty out.
