Cappadocia in Early Christianity

Cappadocia in Early Christianity

“Rocky wonderland that housed Early Christians”

The fairy-tale landscape

A moonscape region carved by nature and men, Cappadocia is most famous for its unique geological features and layers of history. The local people referred to the unique rock formations as "fairy chimneys", a name that has endured throughout the ages. If nature was the first artist to arrange the decor, it was Anatolian humankind who carved the rock and created Cappadocia as an open-air museum full of unparalleled natural and cultural phenomena. Wind and water worked on this plateau, leaving only the harder elements to form a fairy-tale landscape.

At the hearth of Anatolia, this landscape also shields biblical underground settlements of early Christians fleeing from Roman persecution. Monks carved extensive dwellings and monasteries here and covered them with beautiful Byzantine frescoes.

History and Nature from the Sky 

Start your day in Cappadocia by rising up with the sun in a hot air balloon. Then have breakfast with the view of Fairy Chimneys. Our route starts from Göreme with its enigmatic charm. The Göreme Open Air Museum, where the ideas of Christianity were unified by St Basil the Great and his brothers, Cappadocian Fathers who laid the foundation for the theology of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, is only a 20-minute-walk from the town center and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

History and Nature Underground

The churches carved into these soft rocks sit still with mystery intact. The churches of Durmuş Kadir, Yusuf Koç, El Nazar, Saklı, Meryem Ana (Virgin Mary) and Kılıçlar cast a spellbinding effect on visitors. The architectural details and frescoes of the Tokalı church, Convent of Monks and Nuns, Chapel of St Basil, and the St. Barbara, Elmalı, Yılanlı, Karanlık and Çarıklı churches seem as alive today as when they were new.

The captivating church interiors depict biblical scenes through detailed mural paintings alongside painted ornaments reaching to this day. Two of the most important structures of the Göreme Open Air Museum are, without a doubt, the Dark (Karanlık) Church and Tokalı Church. Dark (Karanlık) Church’s lack of light has made this church keep its treasures alive, letting the frescoes resist the ruthless nature of time itself. No wonder this church is at the top of the travelers’ lists.

Here, you can meet with the locals and if you are lucky you can have your lunch in their houses with homemade local tastes. 

Your next destination may not radiate its allure from afar but once in, you will leave in awe for sure. Çavuşin village lies within minutes from Göreme. Once you are through this seemingly ordinary village, your path will take you to ancient ruins and fairy chimneys, just follow the tracks and you will find yourself in an area famous for its churches and clergy houses. You can access the oldest churches, built between 1st and 10th centuries, through this path. Extending your walk half an hour, you can reach the churches in Güllüdere and Kızılçukur though the most enticing site inviting you just near the slope of a cliff:  one of the oldest and the largest in Cappadocia, the Church of St John the Baptist.

Paşabağ, also known as Monk’s Vineyard is situated about 1 km off the Göreme-Avanos road to Zelve. Here in Paşabağ, a chapel dedicated to St. Simeon, and a hermit's shelter is built into one such fairy chimney with three heads. The entrance of the cell, which can be reached with a chimney-like narrow tunnel is decorated with crosses. They hollowed out the chimneys from top to bottom, creating rooms 10-15 m high. They slept on beds made from rock, and were fed by locals via buckets on ropes lowered down from their lofty perches.

Consisting of three valleys, Zelve has the most intensity in terms of fairy chimneys. The important churches in the valley are Balıklı and Üzümlü all hauntingly captivating, illustrating the ancient monastic life.