Dark Church (Goreme) |
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The church is located inside Goreme Open Air Museum. The church only obtains light from a little window at the narthex and therefore is almost dark. The name of the church is derived from this fact. The structure is entirely adorned with frescos. The church has the most intact frescos of the region. The cradle vaulted rectangular nartex of the church is reached via a curved ladder in the north. In the south of the nartex, there is a grave. The church has a cross plan, the arms of the cross are cross-vaulted, its centre is domed, and it has four columns and three absissae. The reason for being named the Karanlık (Dark) Church is that it gets a very small amount of light from a small window in the nartex part. For this reason, the colors in the frescos are very lively. The church and the nartex have rich ornaments including the Bible and Christ syclus. Furthermore, as in the Elmalı and the Çarıklı Churches, the scenes taken from the Torah are pictured. The church is dated to the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century. The Scenes: the Deesis, the joyful tiding, the journey to Beytüllahim, the birth, the worship of three astrologers, the babtism, the resurrection of Lazarus, the conversion, the entrance to Jerusalem, the last dinner, the betrayal, Christ on a cross, Christ's going down to hell, women in front of the empty grave, the blessing and the charging of the disciples, the rising of Christ to sky, the hospitality of the Prophet Abraham, burning of three Jewish young men and the pictures of the saints.
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