Anatolia.Land of constant turmoil 5

Anatolia.Land of constant turmoil 5

Turkey
Anatolia
Cappadocia(for more information please refer to the previous photos in the series. Thank you)


Underground and rock residencies.

Cappadocia is a land famous for its underground cities and cave Byzantine orthodox churches. At the very early time of Christianity and before the dogma becoming an accepted religion, worshippers fled to this rmote area for protection and for performing their religious duties. Many of these underground cities are still preserved with vast defending networks and traps throughout their levels such as large stone doors to block entrances and holes in the ceiling. At later times when the religion was accepted officially,the region of Cappadocia became a land of pilgrimage with Christians storming to live there as erimites in constant seek for divine grace and penitence. Many of them selected willingly such humble residencies either using the old ones or digging new in the ground and stone. Of great interest are the cave churches dug into the soft tuff rock or hard stone, the majority of them loaded with frescoes and other wall paintings.