Soğanlı Valley

Soğanlı sits in a valley 15 km from the centre of Yeşilhisar, in the triangle formed by Kayseri, Niğde and Nevşehir. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism describes rock churches and caves woven among present-day houses. The Culture Portal presents the area as Soğanlı Valley and credits the Kayseri provincial culture and tourism directorate and muze.gov.tr as its sources.

History

The Ministry says people began using Soğanlı as a settlement in the Roman period. The rock spaces on the valley slopes served as burial places for the Romans and as churches for the Byzantines. From the 4th century CE the area ranked among Christianity's centres in Cappadocia, and it remained significant through the 7th and 8th centuries.

Main features

The site lies on tuff and is said to hold close to fifty rock churches and caves, of which only eight can be toured; the doors and windows of the rest were walled up in earlier years. The visitable churches are Karabaş, the Domed Church, Tahtalı (St Barbara), Yılanlı, Saklı, Tokalı, Ballık and Geyikli. The English Ministry page says around fifty churches were built in those centuries, whereas the Turkish page and the Culture Portal do not tie the count to a building period.

Church walls carry graves, images of Christ and the apostles, and Gospel scenes, and the Turkish page and the portal say the style of the paintings reflects the 10th to 12th centuries. The Ministry notes that rock settlements and churches like those at Ihlara, Göreme and Zelve can be seen here too, with domed rock churches as the difference. Thousands of dovecotes, caves and shelters, plus fairy chimneys, complete the scenery.

Local culture

The Ministry adds that village women make cloth dolls known as Soğanlı Babies, sold across Cappadocia and an important source of income for the village.

Visiting

The Ministry's Turkish page does not say whether MüzeKart is valid at Soğanlı. The Culture Portal lists the address as Soğanlı Village Road, Yeşilhisar. For hours and fees, consult the official page.