Rock Churches of Cappadocia
In central Turkey is a place of surreal dwellings and churches carved into rock outcroppings dating from the time of the earliest Christians. This region is known as ‘Cappadocia’, pronounced, ‘kappa-dokia’.
Early Christians found refuge here in this rocky, rugged terrain. The earliest of these settlers arrived in the first century AD. Many were hermits looking for solitude. The stone in this region is mainly ‘tuff’ and is in fact, not especially ‘tough’.
Tuff is a kind of volcanic rock formed from volcanic ash. Because this rock is mostly ash, it’s fairly easy to carve and cut. This can be seen in North America as well, in places like Chaco Canyon and other Anasazi sites in the Southwestern US.
In Cappadocia, a kind of earnest settlement really began to take place in the 4th century AD when Christianity became to expand its reach.
Over the next few centuries, groups of Christians came here to build cloistered communities. By the 7th century AD these Christian communities would begin to be besieged by invaders from Asia such as the Huns and the Persians. Because of this, people took to carving their homes and churches into the rock for protection and camouflage. In a couple places, they even built entire cities underground.
Some of Christianity’s earliest churches were carved into Cappadocia’s stone outcroppings, such as the Kubbeli Kilise or ‘domed church’ to the left. It’s one of the only churches here to have a dome carved and painted at the top. Note also the elaborately carved pillars at the entrance.
The dwellings in the picture above are well equipped inside. Entire rooms have been carved into the stone, including kitchens, toilets, and even places to smash grapes for making wine. Below is an example of the interior of one of these rock dwellings.