IHLARA VALLEY

Ihlara Valley is a canyon, approximately 14 kms length and up to100 metres deep in places. The sheer walls of the canyon make it almost invisble until you are directly upon it.

Ihlara, in acient times, was the site of the first medical centre. Later, it became a refuge for the early Christians, and has many rock hewn churches. The frescos include scenes from the New Tastement, a tableu of the forty martyrs and the potraits of local religious leaders.

The countryside in the valley of Ihlara is different from the rest of Cappadocia: in fact, a river-bed has opened a deep canyon in the rocky tableland; only in the bottom of this steep valley does vegetation manage to grow.

The Melendiz, now a rivulet, used to be a large river rising on the slopes of the Hasan Dag, an extinct volcano. The river-bed meanders as far as Salt Lake, called Tuz Golu. Apart from Ihlara, the valley contains other villages, including Yaprak Hisar, with its fairy chimneys, and Selime, known for its church with three naves divided by columns. The side naves features barrel vaults whereas of the three apses the central one is covered by a dome. The walls were originally covered by Byzantine frescoes in yellow and black, which were then concealed by paintings of various Saints and Scenes from the life of Christ. The village is also famous for the mausoleum of Selime, the sultan after whom the village is named. Another highlight of the valley are the remains of Roman baths, placed near the stream to ensure a valid water supply.

The valley of Ihlara has another entire complex of churches in a steep, picturesque valley. Dating back as far as the IV century, their IX century frescoes are inspired by Syrian art which was simpler and made use of only a few colours (various shades of red on a white background).

As from the XI century, more colours were used and the Syrian-Egyptian style was influenced by Byzantine art and religious mosaics of major churches at the time. Frontal, schematic figures were juxtaposed between vegetal designs, albeit abstract or architectural. Especially in the abstract motifs (but also in the thick lines outlining figures) the influence of mosaics is plainly visible, and the series of frescoes make the same impact on one as mosaics in a Byzantine church.

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