The valley of Göreme is where the subway churches where the art of the second century is still very well preserved all over the place, in Turkey, is a truly unique place and full of history as there are also the houses that were used for the refuge of Christians who came fleeing from Jerusalem. I would like to share with you some interesting facts about the rock-hewn churches and subway shelters in the historical and religious area all over Turkey. Come with me and enjoy these stories.
**The Open Air Museum of Göreme
Göreme is a valley in the Cappadocia region full of many stories and legends of doves and fairies, more of the Christian fleeing and taking refuge, in Turkey, famous for its rock-hewn churches and monasteries that today are still open to the public and outdoors for all to enjoy. The Göreme Open Air Museum is a complex of rock-hewn monuments dating back to the 6th century A.D. that displays the art and culture in its still-preserved rocks for all to see. These churches, monasteries and chapels were built by the first Christians in the region, who came fleeing from Jerusalem before the Romans killed them and sought refuge from Roman persecution.
**Churches carved into the rock.
Among the most outstanding churches are:
- The Church of the Entrance of Life (also known as the Entrance Church): one of the oldest churches in the valley, built in the 6th century AD.
- The Church of the Holy Trinity**: one of the largest and best-preserved churches in the valley.
- The Church of the Apostles**: a church that is believed to have been built in the 6th century A.D. All these churches are subway and only visible and very well preserved remains remain.
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**Subway shelters
The Göreme area also has several subway shelters, known as “deres”. These shelters were built to protect people from Roman persecution and bandit attacks that plagued the area as I remind you that this area was known as the silk road where there were thousands of stores and many looters and bandits roamed.
- Derinkuyu**: is one of the largest subway shelters in the area, with a capacity to house more than 20,000 people. It was built in the 6th century BC.
Kaymakli: is another important subway shelter, which is believed to have been built in the 6th century A.D. You can still go in and see what it was like inside but it is very crowded today so I decided not to go in.
**The Valley of the Doves
The valley of Göreme is also famous for its “Fairy Chimneys”, which are actually rock columns that rise from the ground and the story goes that in this valley was of the fairies at one time one of the fairies fell in love with a human and the fairy king was very angry and turned all the fairies into pigeons for all humans to take care of them and feed them every day of life. These rock columns were formed through the erosion of the rock over the years were created by calcans that are composed of different shapes and colors some denser or other stronger and darker very resistant to the erotion of time and space for thousands of years.
The Göreme Valley offers a fascinating window into the history of the region and the importance of faith and community in the lives of the early Christians of the area who were forced to flee from the Romans and were forced to hide and take refuge in this unique place in the world.
photos of my authorship