Cappadocia

CAPPADOCIA – THE CRADLE OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION AND OF THE HOLY FATHERS

Cappadocia is situated in the heart of modern Turkey. Also called Kapadokya, after the Hittite name meaning "beautiful horses region," it came across three great periods of culture and civilization: the Hittite, the Roman - Byzantine and the Ottoman period.

In the fourth century AC, the austere scenery, the isolated valleys, but mostly the influence of Cappadocian Fathers’ doctrine (St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Gregory of Nazianzus) made many people retreat to Cappadocia to lead a life of praying. Many Christians have found refuge here from the Roman persecutors, and a large number of Christians have chosen to live in caves dug into volcanic tuff.

So they founded the first monasteries where St. Basil wrote “Rules for the old and the young” for monks, which have been strictly obeyed until today in all the Orthodox

monasteries of the world. Thus, at the end of the fourth century, small monastic communities were established here, that ultimately made up the real monasteries with prayer chapels, cells, kitchens, dining halls and food warehouses.

In prezent se estimeaza sunt peste 300 de biserici sapate in piatra , dintre care cele mai

The most popular monasteries are the ones in Gรถreme, Zelve, Ihlara.

The most important archaeological site in Cappadocia with the best preserved Christian vestiges is called Gรถreme. This term means "you cannot see us here."

According to tradition and to the name the place, two millennia ago Christians ran away from the south to hide from Roman persecution, which is why Christian churches in Gรถreme and Urgup, the neighboring city, are among the oldest in the world. Viewed in a broader way, these villages are situated in the Central Anatolian province of Nevล ehir, a monastic complex of several churches and chapels carved in stone, covered with frescos, which is one of the most popular tourist attraction sites in Turkey. Gรถreme National Park, located in the town with the same name, was put on UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985.

There are more than 30 churches and chapels here, most of them dating from the 9 to the 12th centuries, built in the shape of a cross, often surrounded by graves carved in stone. Because of seepage, many of these churches are in poor condition so that the authorities in Turkey have started a comprehensive project to rehabilitate and preserve them.

One of the most famous churches is Karanlik. Its popular name is The Black Church. The reason? It has only a small window through which light can enter the church. The church is built on two levels and still preserves ancient frescoes, though the times were not very lenient. Today, these frescoes with scenes from the Old and New Testaments were restored and are considered to be the best preserved of ancient Cappadocia.

The list of churches in GÜreme monastic complex goes on with Elmali Church, the smallest and most recent, Yilanli church, famous for its frescoes representing the people in hell, coiled snakes, Barbara Church, Church Cavusin Church, Church Kiliclar Kusluk or the Virgin Mary’s Church etc.

Gradually, Christians became a minority in the area and then, as the Ottoman Empire extended, they almost completely disappeared. However, at present for the Christians Cappadocia is a particularly interesting area in terms of cultural - spiritual, but also in terms of tourism. Cappadocia is unique due to the "underground cities" built by the Christian monks here. th

The pottery

The history of pottery in Cappadoccia goes back to Hitties. Pottery making, first started in Anatolia during the Neolitic Age. The Assoryans of Mesopotamia brought the skill of terracotta pot making to their tading parners, the Hitties.

The most renowed terracotta pottery producing town of Cappadocia is Avanos.

To their trading par The town is build in volcano soils.

The Carpet and Kilim Weaving

In Cappadocia, weaving continue since the Bizantine Period, is more common in Urgup and Avanos. In Avanos the line pattern Kilim is also woven. Seljuk paterns are dominant in ancient carpets woven in root dyes.

Onyx – Stone Turning

In Cappadocia, stones have played an important role in daily life, from past to present. Stones have been used for building houses and religious buildings as well as producing jewellery and decorative items.

The vicinity of Hacibektas is renowed for deposits of yellow, pink, red and milky onyx. There also stones of mixed color, named “marbled stones”.

Research: Beatriz Fontes, 4º B Camila Santos, 4º B

Kaymaklı Underground City The ancient name was Enegup. Caves may have first been built in the soft volcanic rock by the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, in the 8th– 7th centuries B.C., according to the Turkish Department of Culture.

The houses in the village are constructed around the nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The tunnels are still used today as storage areas, stables, and cellars. The underground city at Kaymaklı differs from Derinkuyu in terms of its structure and layout. The tunnels are lower, narrower, and more steeply inclined. Of the four floors open to tourists, each space is organized around ventilation shafts. This makes the design of each room or open space dependent on the availability of ventilation.

A view showing several floors at once.

A stable is located on the first floor. The small size of the stable could indicate that other stables exist in the sections not yet opened. To the left

of the stable is a passage with a millstone door. The door leads into a church. To the right of the stables are rooms, possibly living spaces.

Located on the second floor is a church with a nave and two apses.

Located in front of the apses is a baptismal font, and on the sides along the walls are seating platforms. Names of people contained in graves here coincide with those located next to the church, which supports the idea that these graves belonged to religious people. The church level also contains some living spaces.

A remarkable stone with several holes, used in cold copper processing.

The third floor contains the most important areas of the underground compound: storage places, wine or oil presses, and kitchens. The level also contains a remarkable block of andesite with relief textures. Recently it was shown that this stone was used for cold-forming copper. The stone was hewn from an andesite layer within the complex. In order for it to be used in metallurgy, fifty-seven holes were carved into the stone. The technique was to put copper into each of the holes (about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in diameter) and then to hammer the ore into place. The copper

was probably mined between Aksaray and Nevsehir. This mine was also used by Asilikhoyuk, the oldest settlement within the Cappadocia Region.

The high number of storage rooms and areas for earthenware jars on the fourth floor indicates some economic stability. Kaymakl覺 is one of the largest underground settlements in the region. The large area reserved for storage in such a limited area appears to indicate the need to support a large population underground. Currently only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.

Kaymakli underground city 穢 Nevit Dilmen

Ürgüp Ürgüp (Greek: Προκόπιο / Prokópio or Cappadocian Greek: Προκόπι / Prokópi, Ottoman Turkish ) is a town and district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Cappadocia, and near the cave Churches of Göreme. According to 2010 census, the population of the district is 34,372 of which 18,631 live in the town of Ürgüp. The district covers an area of 563 km2 (217 sq mi), and the town lies at an average elevation of 1,043 m (3,422 ft).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Crg%C3%BCp Info and pictures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

Created by Sendija and Ralfs