GOREME
One of the oldest settlements of the region is
Goreme. Especially during the expansion period of Islam, this small
town was occupied by the Christians who were under attack by the
Arabic Muslim conquerers. Some of the earliest churches in this area
date back to the 7th century A.D. St.Basil, from Kayseri,
established the first monastry in Goreme to educate missionaries.
Goreme was
an important settlement even before the Christian era. The people of
the town were living in these carved rock houses. Some of these
houses were converted into the churches later.
Some of the
rock structures were used as burial ground. You can see one of them
when you are entering the town, in the form of a rock pinnacle which
contains a mortuary chapel with a small facade.
The El
Nazar valley which is 3km. to the east of Goreme, where the fairy
chimneys house some early era Christian churches. The Church of
Kiliclar and the Church of Madonna are two of the most important
ones.
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