Çavuşin Church

Çavuşin Church stands beside the Göreme–Avanos road, 2.5 km from Göreme. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism dates it to 964-965, and the Culture Portal lists it among its faith and culture tourism sites.

History

The two Ministry pages stress different things about who stood behind the building. The Turkish page says it was made in the name of Emperor Nicephorus Phocas. The English page and the Culture Portal say instead that it was commissioned in 964-965, after the Eastern Roman emperor Nicephorus Phocas had visited Cappadocia.

Architecture

The church was hollowed out of a massive rock in two storeys, with monks' rooms on the lower level. The natural stairway to the upper floor has collapsed, so today it is reached by an iron staircase added later. The Turkish page describes a single-nave church with a barrel vault and three apses and says the narthex is gone; the English page says the narthex is largely destroyed and notes that depictions of archangels survive there.

Frescoes

The inner walls carry frescoes, and the English page calls some of them extremely well preserved. Their subjects come from the Gospels and the life of Christ. Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, his wife Theophano and other relatives are also depicted.

The Culture Portal walks through the scenes wall by wall. The west wall shows the journey to Bethlehem, the Nativity, the Last Supper, the betrayal, the Harrowing of Hell and the Baptism. On the north wall are Christ before Pilate, the road to Golgotha, the Crucifixion and the death; the south wall has the entry into Jerusalem, the raising of Lazarus, the healing of the blind man, the Deposition and the women at the empty tomb. The vault carries the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Flight into Egypt, the Adoration of the Magi and the Massacre of the Innocents, while the apse holds the Transfiguration.

Visiting

The Ministry's Turkish page says MüzeKart is valid for Turkish citizens at Çavuşin. Whether the church is open, plus hours and fees, can change, so use the official page.