The 11th century cave churches of Göreme
Rediscovered by Europeans in the 18th century, Göreme has been inhabited for millennia. The Romans used it as a necropolis and it was a very important Christian location in the early Middle Ages. The small city is just one example of many towns carved into fairy chimney rock formations in Cappadocia, central Turkey.
Beside its famous balloon rides, the city is home to the Göreme Open Air Museum, a collection of caves carved into the stone for hundreds of years. The ticket costs 30 Turkish Lira, plus 10 for the Dark Church.
Many churches were carved here because it was a pilgrimage place to Christians and a location for sacred burials, so it became a center for nuns and monks.
On our way from the hotel to the museum we were already able to see rooms carved into the stone. This is a common sight in the region.
The Göreme Open Air Museum is basically an old early medieval city. It’s an intricate series of interconnected tunnels inside caves. I had never seen anything like it and was amazed to see the unique way of how people used to live inside the stone. They had everything they needed. It’s somewhat like an ant hill of people.
Many of the places there have amazing paintings that are very well preserved, but unfortunately -to me, at least, as a photographer- is that no photos are allowed inside most places, so I’m sorry to say that many of the beautiful sights are not here in this post.
St. Basil’s Chapel
The first church you visit is St. Basil’s. It was carved in the 11th century and is one of the simplest in the whole complex. Everything is sort of crooked and not the best example of craftsmanship.
St. George is one of the various paintings inside the Chapel of St. Basil.
St. Basil (left) and St. Theodore (right) spearing a snake are also depicted inside the church.
You follow a map and basically visit the caves in a certain order. There are several entrances that seem nothing more than a regular house. You can see carvings in the walls that seem like shelves and pits that I assume were for lighting a fire. Most of these rooms had the ceiling completely black, most likely from the fires lit inside.
The ceiling in many of the rooms is black, which I deduce is from lighting a fire to keep warm. Shelf space is carved into the walls and a pit on the floor.
Two graves are seen in a small enclave in the mountain under a painting.
I wonder if all this grime is recent. I would expect people to suffocate with so much smoke.
The Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise)
The Dark Church is considered the most beautiful and most famous cave church in all of Cappadocia. You have to pay an extra to go inside. This church was also built in the 11th century and has several columns and domes, all beautifully painted on blue backgrounds.
I was told that in the early 20th century locals used this church as a pigeon house.
This is the façade of the Dark Church. I imagine back in the day this was also inside. Apparently a lot has changed in the last few centuries here.
The exterior façade of the Dark Church has graffiti dating back at least 4 centuries.
St. Catherine’s Chapel
The image of St. Catherine can be seen in the center, between St. Theodore and St. Procopius.
After visiting several rooms and absorbing the ancient history contained in them, we find a small bar inside one of the caves and stop for a drink. They even took credit cards.
Sandal Church
The Sandal Church is part of a monastic complex. The best preserved refectory in Cappadocia is inside this complex. The benches and tables are directly carved into stone.
The Sandal Church Refectory is the best preserved in all of Cappadocia.
Rose Valley
On a different day we went on a quad bike tour around Göreme. It was really fun and totally worth it. We rode to the Rose Valley, where these ruins are located.
These ruins are at the Rose Valley, right next to where they take us to see the sunset. There is usually a guy there selling pomegranate juice out of the back of his car.
There are churches and paintings like these everywhere.
Rose Valley location, just north of Göreme:
There are dozens of other churches in the area and even a whole underground city. Those who played Assassin‘s Creed Revelations know what I’m talking about.
Make sure you visit Göreme once in your life to experience with your own eyes the uniqueness of these constructions preserved for hundreds of years.