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The dramatic
Ihlara Valley gorge, cut
by a small stream (the Melendiz Suyu)
through
the volcanic Cappadocian landscape
45 km (28 miles) southeast of Aksaray (map),
holds about 60 Byzantine churches,
chapels, monasteries and hermits' caves
dating from the 11th to 13th centuries.
Come to the Ihlara Valley,
once called Peristrema,
as much for the scenery and
the hike as for the
churches, which are small and mostly
semi-ruined. The best way to visit
the valley is on a day-trip
excursion which
includes one of the Underground
Cities, the mountain town of Güzelyurt,
and the Seljuk
Turkish caravanserai of Ağzıkarahan near Aksaray. More...
In January,
2012, the authorities closed
parts of the valley to
visitors while safety studies were
conducted, but the valley re-opened to
visitors on March 29.
Thanks to my friends at Travel
Atelier
for this news and update.—TB
The valley has four approaches (map):
1. Ihlara village at
the southern end of the valley, on
the road to/from Güzelyurt and
the underground
city of Derinkuyu;
2. Ihlara
Valley Touristic Installations (Ihlara
Vadisi
Turistik Tesisleri), the
visitor center with
car parking, ticket booth, restaurant,
toilets and souvenir shop high
on the valley's western wall 2
km north of Ihlara village;
3. Belisırma,
a village about 4 km north of Ihlara
village on the east side of the valley;
4. Selime, the
village at the northern end of the
valley,
16 km (10 miles) north of the
southern end.
Most of the churches are located
between Ihlara Village and Belisırma.
If you don't mind stairs, you
can see the most churches in the shortest
time by entering from the Ihlara
Valley Touristic Installations by
descending the 360 steps,
spending a few hours hiking and looking
at churches, then re-climbing the steps
(one to three hours).
That's 720 steps in all. Your knees may
never forgive you!
An alternative is to descend the steps,
see the churches, then hike south to Ihlara
Village to meet your driver
(two to four hours).
Or you can start
from behind
the
Star
Hotel in Ihlara Vlllage and
walk north all the way to Belisırma (five
to six hours). Here's what you'll
see:
Curved Stone Church (Eğritaş
Kilisesi)
In quite poor condition.
Fragrant Church (Kokar
Kilise)
Good frescoes of New Testament scenes,
including the Nativity and Crucifixion.
Dark Castle Church (Karanlık
Kale Kilisesi)
A large monastery complex with minimalist
decoration.
Hyacinth Church (Sümbüllü Kilise)
A monastery church, the facade
if which is in particularly good condition,
and
the
paintings in
a finer style than those of the nearby
Tree Church.
Snake Church (Yılanlı
Kilise)
Named for a fresco showing a three-headed
snake torturing sinners, the many frescoes—some
quite gruesome—are
in vivid colors and more oriental in
style.
Pine Needle Terrace Church (Pürenli
Seki Kilisesi)
More New Testament scenes, including
the Annunciation to Mary, the Magi (Wise
men), Jesus' nativity, his entry into
Jerusalem, the crucifixion and burial.
Church Beneath a Tree (Ağaçaltı
Kilise)
A domed church with abstract decoration
reminiscent of the Iconoclastic period,
located near the bottom of the long stairway
(360 steps) up the steep canyon wall
to the Touristic
Installations.
Coming from Ihlara Village, you
reach the Church Beneath a Tree and
the stairway after about two hours'
walking.
Another 2-1/2 to three hours's walk
north brings you to Belisırma.
If you have a car and driver, the driver
can meet
you there, but only after you've passed
these churches:
Church of the Dark Breach (Karagedik
Kilisesi)
Kırk Damalı (or Dam Altı)
Kilise (Church
of 40 Checkers/Roofs)
Also called the Church
of St George,
it features a badly damaged fresco
of St George slaying the dragon (a
three-headed
serpent). On either side of St George
are Basil Giagupes, a Greek minister
of the Seljuk Turkish Sultan Mesud
II, and Basil's wife Thamar, who paid
for the frescoes. The church is thought
to have been built between 1283 and
1295.
Church of Bahattin's Straw
Rick (Bahattin'in
Samanlığı Kilisesi)
Mr Bahattin stored
his straw in this small church which
has vestiges of older 9th-century decoration.
Church with Columns (Direkli
Kilise)
So named because of its three apses
separated by columns.
Decoration is from around the year
1000.
Highest, or Spotted, Church (Ala
Kilise)
With a cross-in-square floor plan,
the church was decorated probably in
the 11th century, and bears some Iranian
influence.
To walk the entire valley, you'd continue
north from Belisırma for
another two or three hours past the Selime
Monastery (now thought by
some to be a Byzantine mansion) to Selime,
a long day's hike, about seven or eight
hours in all.
If you've come from the underground
cities and Güzelyurt on the day
excursion, your next stop is the Ağzıkarahan Seljuk
Turkish caravanserai. Go north
from the Ihlara area toward the Aksaray-Nevşehir highway
(map).
The Agzikarahan is 16 km northeast
of Aksaray on the old highway
which
runs parallel to the new one.
Distances & Driving Times (from
Ihlara Village)
Aksaray: 45
km (28 miles) W, 45 minutes
Derinkuyu: 80
km (50 miles) E, 1.5 hours
Göreme:
120 km (75 miles) NE, 2.25 hours
Güzelyurt: 14
km (9 miles) E, 15 minutes
Kaymaklı: 90
km (56 miles) E, 1.75 hours
Nevşehir: 110
km (68 miles) NE, 2 hours
Selime: 16 km (10
miles) N, 20 minutes
Ürgüp: 133
km (83 miles) NE, 2.5 hours
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