Avanos ( Venessa ) Cappadocia

Avanos ( Venessa ) Cappadocia

The ancient name of the town of Avanos, which lies 18 km to northeast of Nevsehir, is Venessa. The main economic activity in the town is pottery, a craft dating back to the Hittite period. The red clay that is worked by local craftsmen comes from the residue in the KIZILIRMAK River. On the banks of the Kizilirmak, near to Avanos , a marble sarcophagus was found in a Roman necropolis, interesting in that it is the first sarcophagus to be found in the area. When sarcophagus was discovered in 1971, unfortunately someone had allready opened the gable roof lid and stolen the contents. Pathological and paleoanthropological test on the body and sarcophagus established that the body belonged to a woman whose hair was dyed with henna.
The 13th century Saruman Caravansary and the Ottoman Alaaddin mosque are interesting pieces of architecture in the area.