Goreme's Monastic Sites
The Church of St. Barbara
It is an eleventh century cruciform church with two columns, three apses and a side entrance. According to some sources this church was believed to have come from the Iconoclast period. However considering its plan which is similar to eleventh and twelfth century buildings, it can easily be concluded that this cannot be right. Its name derives from a legendary saint, Barbara. According to legend, Barbara, after becoming a Christian, was shut up and eventually killed by her father. Her father was later punished by being struck by lightning. Barbara was remembered as the patron saint of architects, stonemasons and artillery men. Her attribute is generally a tower with three windows representing the Holy Trinity. St. Barbara is depicted on the north wall.
In the apse Christ, pantocrator is shown enthroned with his right hand in the gesture of blessing. On the wall opposite the entrance are painted two soldier saints on the horseback, St. George and St. Theodore. These two equestrian figures battling against a dragon symbolize the fight between the divine heroes and the forces of evil. St. Theodore was a recruit in the Roman army who was burned to death for setting fire to the Temple of Cybele in Amasya.
The dark colored bird-like creature was believed to represent the evil.
The predominant color in the frescoes of the church is red which was obtained from ocher. The two pits to the left after entering are interpreted as being either baptismal or for wine production.
Yilanli Kilise (The Church of the Serpent)
This eleventh century church has a single nave covered by a barrel vault and a small apse on the left after entering. An interesting feature in this church is that the frescoes are framed like icons. The name of the church derives from the serpent in one of the frescoes on the left above the apse. Here, like in the Church of St. Barbara, two soldier saints St. George and St. Theodore are fighting against evil forces in the appearance of a serpent. Next to them is St. Onesimus.
On the right above the apse is another picture showing Constantine the Great and his mother Helena. They are holding the true cross. Constantine is very important in the name of Christianity as he is the emperor who declared Christianity the official religion in 330 AD. Helena was the mother of Constantine. After her conversion to Christianity, she used her position to promote the cause of the faith. She is the subject of many legends and is said to have found the cross of Christ during a trip to the Holy Land after receiving a vision at the age of 80. In art her emblem is the cross.
On the wall opposite the entrance is Jesus Christ. The small figure next to him is probably either the donor of the church or the artist of the painting as found in Italian art.
Opposite the apse are shown three saints, St. Onophrius, St. Thomas and St. Basil the Great. St. Onophrius, with raised hands in a dismissive gesture, was a hermit who spent a life of solitude in the desert in Egypt. He used desert leaves for a loincloth and became the patron saint of weavers. Because of his breasts and the way he is dressed he became a subject of some apocryphal stories according to one of which he was originally a beautiful, lecherous girl who repented of her sins and prayed God to help her. Her prayer was accepted and she woke up one day as an ugly old man.
Carikli Kilise (The Church of the Sandal)
This is a church with a cruciform nave, two columns, three apses and four domes (one central dome and three cupolas). Its frescos date from the thirteenth century. The name of the church derives from a footprint below the Ascension fresco. The entrance to the church is from the north and the apse is directed to the east.
Three donors are mentioned by their names in frescoes. The way they are dressed in the picture gives the impression that they were not from the upper class but they were probably rich peasants. The fact that there were many donors shows that financing a church was beyond the limits of a single person.
Tokali Kilise (The Church of the Buckle)
Tokali Kilise, which for convenience is called the "New Church" is the most spectacular of all the rock-cut churches in Cappadocia. The tenth century church is different in plan to others in the vicinity, having a transverse nave (Mesopotamian type) with three apses and a narthex hewn out of an earlier church, known as the "Old Church". On the left of the transept is a small chapel and below the floor is a crypt. The most striking feature after entering the church is the dominant bright blue color used in the background of the frescoes. Because it was difficult to obtain, the color blue was very rare in Cappadocia. It was probably taken there from somewhere else which implies its cost. From this it is understood that the church was special among others. In the New Church, the niches in the walls of the nave serve to give a sense of depth and substance to the paintings.
Refectory
In addition to churches, suitably to the monastic lifestyle, there was also a refectory, a dining complex, consisting of three rooms in line, a storehouse, a kitchen and a dining hall with a long table cut from the rock for about 30 people and an apsidal place for the father abbot at the top of the table.
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Last modified: Mon Dec 14, 1998