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Göreme Open Air Museum (Göreme Açık Hava Müzesi) is one of the most incredible places to visit in Cappadocia, Turkey. It’s in the heart of UNESCO World Heritage listed Göreme Historical National Park (Göreme Tarihî Milli Parkı) and only a few minutes from the town of Göreme.
Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum
Göreme Open Air Museum is open daily. Admission is 480₺ (as of August 2023) and audioguides are available. The Dark Church costs an extra 130₺ (as of August 2023).
Just about every guided tour to Cappadocia will make a stop there. In order to protect the valuable frescoes, photography is forbidden inside the churches and chapels.
History of Göreme Open Air Museum
Göreme Open Air Museum is an archaeological site at a monastery complex dating back to the 4th century. The area around the ancient village of Kórama (Κόραμα) (today’s Göreme) and throughout Cappadocia had already been popular with ascetic monks since the 2nd century. Several monks settled there to adopt a life of seclusion.
In the 3rd century, however, powerful bishops Basil the Great (330-379), his brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-c. 395), and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390), began promoting collective monastic life. This culminated in the huge complex at Göreme Open Air Museum.
Able to house over 750 monks and nuns, the complex was the main center of monastic life from the 4th through 13th centuries. It was also the place where the monastic education system was launched.
Just about every rock and fairy chimney contains a church, chapel, or dining area. Most of the churches feature brilliant frescoes covering the lives of Jesus Christ and the saints as well as Biblical events. The site opened to the public in 1967.
Chapel of Saint Basil
The first chapel we visited at Göreme Open Air Museum was the Chapel of Saint Basil (Aziz Basil Şapeli). It dates back to the 11th century and contains two graves lying side by side. The graves probably belonged to the chapel’s benefactors or important monks. There are seven notable surviving frescoes in the chapel. In the apse is a depiction of Christ holding a Bible in His right hand. Other frescoes include depictions of the Virgin Mary holding Christ, Saint Demetrius, Saint George, Saint Basil, Saint Theodore, and Saint Catherine.
The Chapel of Saint Basil faces a gorge. It’s possible to see dovecotes carved into the cliff face across the gorge. Monks would collect pigeon excrement from these dovecotes and use it as fertilizer. The excrement was also used to enhance the colors of paint used on the frescoes in the churches and chapels.
Chapel of Saint Barbara
Next, we entered the Chapel of Saint Barbara (Azize Barbara Şapeli). It dates back to the 11th century and features red geometric paintings. They depict religious figures and animals. The architecture of the chapel is fairly simple. Frescoes include Christ Pantocrator, Saint George, Saint Theodore, Saint Barbara, and what’s believe to be the Virgin Mary holding Christ.
Refectory
A few steps away we visited a cave with two rooms. One of them served as a refectory while the other was probably a wine or oil press. The refectory had benches and a table carved out of the rock.
Apple Church
Continuing through Göreme Open Air Museum was the Apple Church (Elmalı Kilise). It’s one of the most brilliantly painted churches of the complex. The church dates back to around 1050 and features scenes from the life of Christ. There are also scenes and prophets from the Old Testament.
Snake Church
Next, we visited the Snake Church (Yılanlı Kilise), which is also known as the Church of Saint Onuphrius (Aziz Onuphrius Kilisesi). The church was originally planned as a narthex but the nave was never carved. It dates back to the 11th century and has a flat ceiling as well as graves.
The apse hollowed out of the wall on the left side contains a fresco of the Deesis. Opposite the entrance is a fresco of Christ with the donor of the church. On the east side of the vault are Saint Onesimus, Saint George slaying the dragon, Saint Theodore, and Saints Constantine and Helen with the True Cross. The west side of the vault depicts Saint Basil, Saint Thomas, and a naked Saint Onuphrius behind a palm tree.
Graves and Refectory
A set of stairs lead up to a small room containing several graves. The views from the top of the stairs are excellent.
Near the bottom of the stairs is a refectory in poor condition. The table and benches are not fully intact.
Larder/Kitchen/Refectory
Next is a pair of doors leading to three rooms connected by passageways. The first room was a larder with storage spaces hollowed out of the rock.
The second room was a kitchen with a built-in oven. Finally, the third room was a refectory that could seat up to 50 people. It’s one of the best preserved refectories in the complex.
Nameless Chapel
Further up the path is a stairway leading up to the Nameless Chapel (İsimsiz Şapel). On the way up is a refectory and another room in poor condition.
The façade of the Nameless Chapel is decorated with a series of Maltese crosses and geometric patterns in red paint. Directly opposite the entrance is an altar under the apse. It sits behind a door flanked by two windows carved out of the rock.
There are also more geometric patterns and Maltese crosses painted on the walls. Don’t forget to check out the view from the top of the stairs!
Dark Church
The Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise) is the most famous church at Göreme Open Air Museum. It costs extra to enter but is well worth seeing.
The Dark Church was the main church at the monastery complex and the most beautifully decorated. Its name comes from the fact it only has one window to let in natural light. This is the main reason the frescoes are so well preserved. Photography is strictly prohibited inside the church, and the extra fee is meant to limit visitors to further protect the artwork.
History of the Dark Church
The church dates back to the end of the 11th century. After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1924, local Turks sealed the entrance and converted the church into a pigeon house, aiding its preservation. The Dark Church opened to the public in the 1970s and was restored in the 1980s.
Courtyard
The Dark Church sits on the highest point of the path winding through the complex. A short tunnel leads up to the courtyard.
There were once two levels to the courtyard, but the floor of the upper level has collapsed. The lower level was open and sat under a portico while the upper level was enclosed. The east wall on the lower level contains a fresco of the Virgin Mary holding Christ with an archangel on either side.
The façade of the church is painted with red geometric designs and Maltese crosses. The door furthest to the left on the first level leads to a refectory, which contains a long table and benches carved out of the rock. Two more doors lead to other functional rooms that were probably used for storage.
Church
The Dark Church is a single nave barrel vaulted church with four columns, five domes, and three apses. It’s entered through the narthex, which is brilliantly painted with frescoes. There are two graves just across from the entrance. Frescoes on the ceiling of the narthex depict the Ascension.
The three domes in the nave, including the central dome, feature Christ Pantocrator. The Deesis is represented in the central apse. Other frescoes around the church depict scenes from the life of Christ, the Four Evangelists, church benefactors, prophets, saints, and angels.
The graffiti inside the church were prayers left by Greek pilgrims. It dates back to 1629, but most is from the 1800s.
Chapel of Saint Catherine
After visiting the Dark Church, we enjoyed the views while continuing along the path to the Chapel of Saint Catherine (Azize Catherine Şapeli).
The Chapel of Saint Catherine has nine graves carved into the floor. The Deesis is painted in the apse along with Saint Gregory, Saint Basil, and Saint John Chrysostom. The rest of the chapel features Saint George, Saint Theodore, Saint Catherine, and a few other saints.
Sandal Church
Further downhill is the Sandal Church (Çarıklı Kilise), which is the last church we visited within the complex. It dates back to the middle of the 11th century and is named for two deep footprints in the floor, representing the last footsteps of Christ before the Ascension. 12 scenes from the life of Christ are painted inside. Three of the scenes are from His childhood, two are from His adult life, and the rest are from the Passion and Resurrection.
Underneath the chapel is the finest refectory at Göreme Open Air Museum. Above the entrance are three recessed niches decorated with Maltese crosses. Inside is a long bench and table carved out of the rock. At the end of the table is a niche with a fresco of the Last Supper.
Buckle Church
The Buckle Church (Tokalı Kilise) is one of the most important churches not only at Göreme Open Air Museum but in all of Cappadocia. It sits outside the gates of Göreme Open Air Museum and can be visited on the same ticket as the rest of the complex. The Buckle Church is the finest church in all Cappadocia as far as frescoes and Byzantine art is concerned. Like the other churches, photography is prohibited inside.
First Church
The Buckle Church originated as a small hermitage for just one monk in the 9th century. The room to the left just inside the entrance was the original hermitage. The first Buckle Church was carved into the rock next to the hermitage around 915. It has a barrel vault ceiling decorated with the most complete cycle of frescoes in Cappadocia depicting scenes of the life of Christ.
Several years later, a chapel was carved below the surface level to the left of the first Buckle Church. A staircase leads down to this chapel, which was used as a burial chapel.
Second Church
In the 960s, the apse of the first Buckle Church was demolished and a much grander church was carved deeper into the rock. That’s the church seen today. The first church was remodeled and became a narthex, while the new church became the most impressive church in Cappadocia.
The new church was much larger, with the ceiling eight meters above the floor. A master painter was brought from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to decorate the interior. Extremely expensive colors, real gold, and imported materials were used. A side chapel to the left of the nave was carved later.
The Buckle Church was restored in the 1970s. Since 2011, artists from Italy have joined local authorities in continuing the restoration process.
Collapsed Churches
If you pay close attention to the hills around the Buckle Church, you’ll see the remains of other churches that have since collapsed.
