The ceiling in the Agacalti church. Notice the ancient frescos marked over by icons and other items in an unsuccessful effort to remove the Christian references.
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A sample of the cliff dwellings in Ihlara valley.
The Selime cathedral. Cut in solid stone as a monastery. It is thought that it was built to be a protected, secret, and safe place for early Christian monks and their followers.
It’s here….. up there! Protected then and now.
A view of the interior of the church from outside the door/arch cut in stone.
The interior of the cathedral at Selime monastery….. again, this was all handcut in solid stone with crude tools. Centuries of smoke stained walls.
Looking up hill toward the Selime monastery.
One of the entrances to the Selime monastery. Note the protected view from the entrance.
Lodging for the monks and cooking areas near the church and the cathedral. The little niches on the walls are thought to be places for the rearing of pigeons. Of course, pigeons were eaten. But they were also used for communication and their dung was used both for fertilizer and for the base coat for the wall frescos.
The doorway into the cathedral at Selime. See the interior of part of the cathedral below.
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