The region of Kapdokya was well known in the late Roman and Byzantine periods as being a center of Christianity. From the 3rd to the 13th Century A.D. this was a stronghold of Byzantine Christianity, being a region of churches and monasteries. The Cappadocian Fathers - Basil the Great (A.D. 330-379), Gregory of Nyssa (Basil's brother, A.D. 335-395), and Gregory of Nazianus (A.D. 329-389) are all associated with this region (one of their biggest contributions was helping to more fully develop the doctrine of the Trinity.
You are able to enter many of the carved churches; sadly pictures of the interiors and their frescos are not allowed.
The entrance to a church:
Pictures of the interiors of some of the churches (not mine):
Crucifixion from the Church of the Buckle (Source)
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The Rock Chapel (Source)
I knew that Turkey had some rock dwellings, but I never realized how many until you started this series. What an amazing people to have the skills and patience to build this way.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Leigh, neither did I. It is really amazing.
DeleteAye.......skills indeed, talk about making do with what there is TB. While the photos concentrate on the stone carvings not much in the way of trees growing eh?
ReplyDeleteNylon12, there we're really not many trees at all anywhere in this part of Turkey. I don't know how long that has been that way, but it could've influenced a lot of the carved structures that we saw.
DeleteAmazing of what some people with hammers, chisels and some time created and left behind all these years later. Sadly, I have done very little that will probably be noticeable beyond my family even a few years after I'm gone.
ReplyDeleteEd, they certainly built durably in stone - then again, they also had things like clothes and wood, artifacts, and pottery, which all get destroyed much more quickly. Only the stone remains.
DeleteTurkey is an understated treasure. Look at these monuments!
ReplyDeleteIt really is, Sandi.
DeleteI can not gone enough places to state things like "The best country ever", but it is certainly one that I definitively would like to return back to at some point.