St. John's Church (Gülşehir)

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Outer wall of the upper church

The Johanneskirche (also St. Jean Kilisesi , Turkish Karşı Kilise ) is a cave church near Gülşehir in Cappadocia in the Turkish province of Nevşehir .

St. John's Church, like most of the Cappadocian churches, is completely carved into the rock. From the outside only the door and a small window can be seen. It is a two-story double church. A cruciform church with short arms, on the eastern section of which is attached an apse , forms the ground floor. This lower church is adorned with simple red, non-figurative ornaments. Its formerly existing domed ceiling , which formed the floor of the upper church, has almost completely collapsed.

The walls of the upper church are completely covered with lavishly restored frescoes. With the exception of the pictures in the apse, all representations have been preserved. On the ceiling are medallions with Byzantine saints, on the back wall the saints George and Theodore fighting a dragon each. There are also scenes from the New Testament such as the baptism of Jesus, the Lord's Supper, the betrayal of Judas, the deposition from the cross and the resurrection. The pictures of the upper church can be dated to 1212 through an inscription.

The frescoes, which were previously badly damaged by soot and graffiti, were restored at great expense from 1995 onwards.

  • Old painting in the lower church

  • Restored frescoes in the upper church

  • Ceiling medallions

  • Dragon fighter

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Commons : St. John's Church (Gülşehir)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 38 ° 44 '26.52 "  N , 34 ° 38' 5.15"  E