Göreme Open Air Museum is located in the center of Cappadocia and is known as the place where the first steps of Monastic Education started in the Cappadocia Region. Its history dates back to the 4th century. It was used as a monastery from the beginning of the 4th century until the end of the 13th century, and today it is among the unique beauties of Cappadocia and is one of the important places to visit.
The Göreme Open Air Museum, which is approximately 1.5 km east of the Göreme Town that it gives its name to, contains old structures such as a cafeteria, church and chapel. The churches carved into the rock formations among the Fairy Chimneys create a unique image with their unique fresco techniques.
Göreme Open Air Museum has a great importance in the region and in the history of Christianity. For this reason, it was taken under protection by UNESCO on December 6, 1985 and included in the World Heritage List. The churches in Göreme Open Air Museum are consecutively, Monastery of Monks and Nuns, St. Basil's Church, Elmalı Church, St. Barbara Church, Yılanlı Church, Pantokrator Church, Malta Crusader Church, St. Catherine's Church, Dark Church, Çarıklı Church and Tokalı Church.
The most suitable and widely used architectural method in Göreme for the religious communities and seclusion people living in Cappadocia is the Single Nave and Cradle Vault Plan Type. These structures were also used as burial places.
In general, rectangular plan was preferred in the buildings. The transverse rectangular plan is a building plan commonly found in Mesopotamia. The reason why the buildings in Göreme were built with this plan is the certain groups that settled in this region. There are hardly any two-nave building types in Göreme, it is only seen in the Church of St. Eustathios. In the Cappadocia Region, the two-nave building type is generally found in churches located in canyons such as Soğanlı and Ihlara. It is also very difficult to come across a three-aisled basilica plan in Göreme. This type of building was mostly preferred in episcopal churches.
There are two different painting techniques used in churches in Göreme. The first of these is the painting technique, which is done with a paint called red ocher directly on the rock. While applying this technique, the bedrock was considered as a canvas. The second painting technique is the painting made with fresco technique after plastering a mixture of plaster, sand and straw on the bedrock. The fresco scenes in churches, which are generally painted with this technique, are scenes from the Bible.
The building known as the "Nuns Monastery" is a 6-storey monastery located on the left at the entrance of the Göreme Open Air Museum. Today, the refectory on the first floor of the monastery, the kitchen, a few rooms at the entrance and the chapel on the second floor, which is partially destroyed, are open to visitors. The transitions between the floors in the monastery are provided by tunnel connections. In case of any danger, bolt stones, also found in underground cities, were used to close the passage between the tunnels. There is a church on the third floor of the monastery. This church, which has four columns, a cross dome and three apses, can be reached through a tunnel. The templon in the main apse in this church is not very common in other churches in Göreme. Inside the church, there are red decorations surrounding the Jesus fresco made with red ocher directly on the rock.
The building on the right at the entrance of the Open Air Museum is called the "Monks Monastery". Over time, due to erosion, all of the tunnels connecting the floors in the monastery were closed. For this reason, only some of the rooms on the ground floor are open to visitors.
St. Basil's Chapel is located at the entrance of Göreme Open Air Museum. Its history dates back to the 11th century. There are burial pits in the narthex separated by columns at the entrance of the chapel. Looking at its plan, the rectangular plan draws attention. The nave of the chapel has a transverse barrel vault and there is one large and two small apses on the long face on the left.
While there is a portrait of Jesus in the large apse, the Virgin Mary and child Jesus are depicted on the front of the chapel. The person on the horse on the north wall symbolizes Saint Theodoros. The person standing on the horse in the scene on the south wall represents St. Georgios fighting the dragon. There are also two saintess depictions in the chapel.
The entrance part has become unusable due to the parts of the rock on which the church is located, which collapsed over time. For this reason, after the renovation, a support wall was added to the valley direction, and the entrance of the church was taken to its original place, that is, to the south side. Looking at the layout of the Elmalı Church, it is seen that it has a Greek cross plan with nine domes, four columns and three apses. The first decorations in the church were made with red paint directly on the rock and then covered with plaster and today's frescoes were added. The history of Elmalı Church II. dates back to the century.
Apart from the frescoes in which the hospitality of the Prophet Abraham and the three Jewish youths burned in the oven from the Torah are depicted, included in the Elmalı Church, Deesis, The Adoration of the Three Magi, The nativity of Jesus, Last Supper, Jesus' Departure to Calvary, The Crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus' Descent into Hell, Baptism, Resurrection of Lazarus, Entrance to Jerusalem, Metamorphosis, Betrayal, Burial of Jesus, Ascension of Jesus, Women at the Empty Grave and and Saint depictions are included.
St. Barbara Chapel, a Cross-Planned Chapel, is just behind the rock block where Elmalı Church is located. There are two columns in the chapel. The northern, southern and western cross arms are barrel vaulted, while the eastern cross arm and the two corner spaces in the east are domed. The center of the chapel also has a domed structure. The chapel has three apses, one main and two side.
The chapel dates back to the second half of the 11th century. There are geometric motifs, military symbols and mythological animals inside the dome and on its walls. The motifs were worked directly on the rock with the red paint technique.
In addition to the geometrical motifs in the chapel, there are depictions of St. Barbara on the western cross arm of the building, the Pantocrator Jesus in the main apse, and St. Georgios and St. Theodoros fighting with the dragon on the northern cross arm.
The main place of the Yılanlı Church, which belongs to the 11th century and is also known as the Church of St. Onuphrius, is rectangular in plan. It has a cradle-vaulted structure, and the additional room known as the burial chamber in the southern part is designed with a flat ceiling.
At the entrance of the church, right in front of you, Jesus holding a Bible with his left hand and the founder of the church are depicted next to him. On the west side of the vault, the person depicted with long hair and naked palm tree in front of him is Saint Onuphrius. St. Thomas, depicted as blessing next to St. Onuphrius, and St. Basil, depicted with a book in his hand. On the east side of the church, there is St. Georgios and St. Theodoros while fighting the dragon, St. Onesimus on the right, Helena holding the True Cross and her son Konstantinos on the left.
The buildings located between the Yılanlı (The Snake) Church and the Dark Church are the Pantry, Kitchen and Dining Hall, respectively. These structures are interconnected with each other. In the interior of the cellar, there are cavities carved into the rock with special techniques to store the provisions. In the kitchen, there is a Tandoor carved into the rock. In the Dining Hall, which is the last of these structures, there is a hall for 40-50 people to the left of the entrance. In this part, the rock was carved down and turned into a table. Right next to the table, sitting places were made by carving again. On the right sight of the entrance, there is the vinification section where they crush grapes.
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