Çanlı Kilise

Did You Know?

• About 30 churches and chapels have been identified at the site, most with a cross-in-square plan like the main church.
• The only inscription found at the settlement was in a rock-cut church with an unusual trapezoidal layout, possibly due to its position on a slope.

Name

The site takes its name from the prominent church ruin called Çanlı Kilise, which translates to "bell church" or "church with a bell." This name supposedly derives from a bell that once hung in the dome, which collapsed in the early 1950s. Some locals claim to have seen the bell before the collapse, but early photographs taken by Gertrude Bell in 1907 show no such bell, and its existence is doubted. The name may alternatively come from the bell-like shape of the dome itself or from the two-storied narthex resembling a bell tower.

Another tradition, related by Greek villagers, held that the sound of bells ringing could inexplicably be heard near the church. The original Byzantine name is unknown, but given its size, location, and royal associations, it may have been dedicated to a Byzantine noble or royal, possibly linked to the Phokas family or commemorating Basil II's victory over Bardas Phokas. The interior is decorated with frescoes of Jesus and his Apostles.

Settlement

The settlement follows a reverse S-curve along the southern slopes of two plateau areas. The eastern area has a limestone top layer over softer purplish-gray volcanic tuff, into which most houses are cut; the western area is lower and formed of harder gray tuff. The northwestern end is marked by a precipitous ravine, and at the northeastern end the old Byzantine road, cut into bedrock with visible wheel ruts, lies below the modern road to Çeltek.

Both ends appear to have been fortified with masonry structures after the original construction. Rock-cut architecture was used because the local volcanic tuff and compressed ash are easily carved but also easily weathered, making them better suited for carving than for free-standing buildings. In some areas, unstable layers of volcanic ash have caused erosion, leading to collapsed structures and, in one case, a chapel sliding down the hill. The settlement consists of about two dozen courtyard houses, numbered Areas 1 through 23 from east to west.

Many houses have dovecotes on an upper level, originally hidden behind portico façades that have since collapsed; the dovecotes provided dung for fertilizer. Over time, many houses were subdivided to accommodate multiple families as prosperity declined.

Church

The church was built in three main phases: first the naos, then the elongated narthex to the west, and finally the parekklesion (funeral chapel) to the north. It appears to have been originally a free-standing structure in front of a rock-cut façade, with the narthex later connecting the two. The current church replaced an earlier structure, possibly a chapel. Because of its isolated location, it was never converted into a mosque and was eventually abandoned.

The church shares some architectural features with buildings from Constantinople, leading some to suggest it was built by artisans from the capital, but it was most likely built and decorated by local artisans. It features a recessed-brick façade that would not become widespread for another century, yet also has distinctly local elements such as thin lancet-shaped windows, a central Anatolian feature, and a façade resembling churches from Syria or the Caucasus.

The church was probably originally a private chapel for the owners of Area 3 or Area 4. The frescoes echo Constantinopolitan trends but are awkwardly executed, likely because the artist was accustomed to working in rock-cut churches with different lighting and ceiling design.

History of study

Early scholarship focused almost entirely on the church, often characterizing the surrounding settlement as monastic. Josef Strzygowski described the site in his Kleinasien based on notes by J.W. Smirnov, dating it to the 10th or 11th century. Hans Rott visited while traveling from Akhisar to Çeltek and called it "a great monastic settlement in the isolated mountain wilderness," providing a photograph, plan, and sketch. Gertrude Bell visited on 12 July 1907 for three hours, producing a plan, photographs, and detailed notes—the most thorough account until the 1990s.

In summer 1994, a team led by Robert Ousterhout began an intensive survey (without excavation), the first such survey of any Byzantine settlement in Cappadocia, focusing on measuring and mapping with an Electronic Distance Measurer. Later that fall, illegal excavation in the north narthex revealed burials from the 1700s or 1800s, prompting the Aksaray Museum to undertake a rescue excavation that unearthed more tombs cut into the narthex floor.