Newsvine
  • Welcome
  • Help
  • Report Bug
  • Conversation Tracker
  • Your Column
  • Replies
  • Friends
Type Comments Since You Last CheckedArticle Source Last Checked Stop Tracking All Clear Tracking All
Advertise | AdChoices
Log In | Register
Close the Login Panel
Existing users log in below. New users please register for a free account.

New Users:

Existing Users:

E-Mail:
Password:
Forgot Password?
Please enter the e-mail address or domain name you registered with:
E-Mail/Domain:
Back to Login
Log Out
  • Top News
  • Local News
  • World
  • U.S.
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Business
  • Health
  • Odd News
  • More
    • Arts
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Fashion
    • History
    • Home & Garden
    • Not News
    • Religion
    • Travel
Visit Dennis P McCann's column >>

DENNIS P MCCANN

Home Page
Between thought and expression lies a lifetime.
Articles Posted: 48  Links Seeded: 139
Member Since: 7/2010  Last Seen: 5/17/2012

What is Newsvine?

Updated continuously by citizens like you, Newsvine is an instant reflection of what the world is talking about at any given moment.

Get a Free Account
Help
Fun Stuff
  • Your Clippings
  • Leaderboard
  • E-Mail Alerts
  • Top of the Vine
  • Newsvine Live
  • Newsvine Archives
  • The Greenhouse
  • Recommended Articles
  • Wall of Vineness
Put a Seed Newsvine link on your own site

Foto-Friday: Chapel of St. Barbara, Goreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey

Fri Mar 4, 2011 7:32 AM EST
world-news, turkey, catholicism, churches, cappadocia, anatolia, goreme
By Dennis P McCann
Advertise | AdChoices

About St. Barbara:

Saint Barbara, (Greek: Αγία Βαρβάρα), Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr. Her historicity is open to doubt, but legendary accounts place her in the 3rd century. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings, nor in the original recension of Saint Jerome's martyrology. Her name can be traced to the 7th century, and veneration of her was common, especially in the East, from the 9th century.[1] Because of doubts about the historicity of her legend, she was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Roman rite in 1969 in Pope Paul VI's motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis.[2]

As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times, perhaps best known as the patron saint of artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her old legend's association with lightning, and also of mathematicians. Many of the thirteen miracles in a 15th-century French version of her story turn on the security she offered that her devotees would not die without making confession and receiving extreme unction.[3]

link

Göreme open-air museum - St. Barbara Chapel (Azize Barbara Kilisesi)

This is probably the most attractive church in the Goreme Open Air Museum. Situated in back of the Elmali church, this cruciform chapel with three apses is mostly decorated with simple figures and symbols in red paint on white plaster, making a sharp contrast with the colorful figures of most Göreme frescoes. They may have been painted shortly after the 8th-century iconoclastic controversy.
(Location: Göreme)

link

For more historical photos from Turkey please see these previous articles:

Mount Nemrud, East Central Turkey

Ephesus, Western Turkey

Meryemana - the House of the Virgin Mary, Selcuk, Turkey.

The Church of St. Nicholas, Demre, Turkey

Troy, Northwest Turkey.

The Gymnasium at Sardis, Western Turkey.

The Temple of Artemis at Sardis, Western Turkey

Karatay Kervansaray, Kayseri, Central Turkey

Karanlik Kilise - The Dark Church, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey

Chapel of St. Basil, Goreme Open Air Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey

  • Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.

Back To Top | Front Page

Published to:

  • Dennis P McCann's Column, All of Newsvine
  • Groups: ArchaeoVine, Newsvine Photographers, ReligionOfPeace, World News and Views
  • Regions: none
  • Public Discussion (39)
Dennis P McCann

Another early Byzantine cave church, slightly more ornate than the last. This one is carved in a cruciform shape, with one long hall and three shorter apses.

  • 7 votes
Reply#1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 7:34 AM EST
Spikegary

The artwork seems much a bit less 'professional' as some of the others you've shown us, though it still amazes me the amount of skills and labor and the dearth of 'modern' tools used in making these houses of worship. Thanks for another stop on the journey, Dennis!

  • 5 votes
Reply#2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 7:56 AM EST
etva

I see what your saying, but I actually like it better. It seems more personal and relevant that way.

Fascinating photos, Dennis!

  • 3 votes
#2.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 8:31 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

It's earlier, Gary, so the artwork is less advanced, not to mention the paint store apparently ran out of everything except red. Still, it's interesting to see how they filled the space with a bunch of geometric designs,

  • 7 votes
#2.2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:26 AM EST
Spikegary

True and 'professional' probably isn't the right word-a combination of early morning haze and cold fighting drug induced brain fog.

  • 2 votes
#2.3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:49 PM EST
lauhal

It reminds me of primitive tattoos. Beautiful!

  • 1 vote
#2.4 - Sun Mar 6, 2011 11:21 AM EST
Reply
Remote Viewer

Fascinating photos, Dennis, thank you!

  • 5 votes
Reply#3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 8:06 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Thanks for stopping by.

  • 3 votes
#3.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:26 AM EST
Reply
Buzz of the Orient

This is the first time I've seen any of the ancient churches of Turkey. Thanks Dennis for the descriptive photos. By the way, is "historicity" really a word or did you coin it yourself? :-)

  • 6 votes
Reply#4 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 8:23 AM EST
Ben Josephs

I was wondering that too, but it has it's own Wiki entry.

  • 6 votes
#4.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 9:06 AM EST
Buzz of the Orient

Thanks for the link, Ben. It's now a new word for my vocabulary, but too long to normally use for Scrabble, unless you get the opportunity to add to the word "city" and earn an extra 50 points.

  • 5 votes
#4.2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 9:34 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

This is the first time I've seen any of the ancient churches of Turkey.

Check out some of the other links in the article, especially the Dark Church. That place is astonishing.

  • 3 votes
#4.3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:28 AM EST
Buzz of the Orient

I just did now. Yes, "astonishing" is an apt description for The Dark Church..

  • 4 votes
#4.4 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:31 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Looks like it was painted yesterday.

  • 3 votes
#4.5 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:19 PM EST
Reply
David S Jones

Very cool. You can tell a huge difference in the preservation of these paintings as compared to the ones in the The Dark Church.

  • 4 votes
Reply#5 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 8:51 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

I think it's less a question of preservation than one of the paintings themselves. In the later churches the methods employed were far more sophisticated. But yeah - huge difference.

  • 4 votes
#5.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:29 AM EST
Spikegary

The Dark Church, due to it's actual construction keeps a lot of harmful stuff from hitting those paintings also, I would think.

  • 3 votes
#5.2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:51 PM EST
Dennis P McCann

Yep. Near perfect conditions for the preservation of the artwork. It's never been exposed to wind, rain, etc., and very little light can enter. Also, the temperature is nearly constant.

They did have an issue with pigeons, apparently, but that ok now.

  • 3 votes
#5.3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:55 PM EST
Reply
Tedd Riggs

Amazing old church and artwork, thanks for the great photos !

  • 5 votes
Reply#6 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 8:52 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

This place never ceases to amaze me, Tedd.

  • 4 votes
#6.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:30 AM EST
Reply
KYPIAKOC

Neat! I always enjoy the Turkish Foto Fridays:)

  • 5 votes
Reply#7 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 9:48 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Thanks, man. This Byzantine stuff must be like a return to your roots for you.

  • 3 votes
#7.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:30 AM EST
KYPIAKOC

Yes, indeed:)

  • 4 votes
#7.2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:33 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Some of the other ones too... Troy, Ephesus..

  • 3 votes
#7.3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:38 AM EST
Reply
rottlady

What a fascinating place, and the images are great Dennis! Thanks so much for sharing them with us!

  • 5 votes
Reply#8 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:04 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

The coolest thing is to walk around Goreme and see all this stuff in one day. It's just overwhelming.

  • 4 votes
#8.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 10:31 AM EST
Buzz of the Orient

Did you see the article that Nicolas Cage is going to film a sequel to Ghost Rider in Goreme?

  • 4 votes
#8.2 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:36 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

In Goreme? It's such a weird landcape. It'll look surreal on film.

  • 2 votes
#8.3 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:18 PM EST
Buzz of the Orient

If you saw the original Ghost Rider film you would know that's the atmosphere they are looking for.

  • 4 votes
#8.4 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 4:01 PM EST
Dennis P McCann

No, I never saw it... but Cappadocia looks like this.

  • 4 votes
#8.5 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 5:04 PM EST
Reply
storyartist

When I was a young adult, I visited the Tower of London, and sent postcards to Illinois saying, "this is so much more than our 200yr-old Land of Lincoln history."

That's how I feel about your Turkish history that you present to us. So much more than any of the western world.

  • 4 votes
Reply#9 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:11 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Yeah, I know that feeling. The oldest stuff in the US is less than 400 years old. 400 years - that's new here.

I've been to 7000 year old Hittite settlements, and even that isn't the oldest stuff here.

  • 4 votes
#9.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:27 AM EST
Reply
Fletch-495299

Another great photo set Dennis. It is amazing that they dug these churches out of solid rock.

  • 4 votes
Reply#10 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:47 AM EST
Dennis P McCann

Some serious dedication, I guess.

  • 4 votes
#10.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:18 PM EST
Reply
Isabella-37

More awesome pics.

Dennis, what is that in photo #5, the gray sheet above the doorway? It looks like someone came along and put in cement. On either side of the doorway, it looks like decaying due to moisture. If that is cement, is that why they did it, to stop the decaying? Then again, towards the top of the cement looking sheet, there seems to be drawings.

  • 2 votes
Reply#11 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 3:54 PM EST
Dennis P McCann

No, that's just the back wall of the cave. It's about 15 feet behind the doorway, which is a sort of half wall.

  • 3 votes
#11.1 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 5:06 PM EST
Reply
Dennis P McCann

Next week I'm going to do the Underground City. It's kind of hard to photograph, being just a maze of tunnels and chambers - sort of like being inside a giant anthill. Here's a diagram of the known parts of the city.

  • 4 votes
Reply#12 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 5:10 PM EST
HollyKl

Hi, Dennis! I know you've been quite busy keeping us up to date on the Iran situation but I'm happy you were able to post some more pictures for this week. I love the artwork in this chapel!

  • 4 votes
Reply#13 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 5:42 PM EST
Dennis P McCann

Yeah, I thought I'd better get one of these out there since I missed the last two weeks...

  • 2 votes
#13.1 - Sun Mar 6, 2011 4:15 AM EST
Reply
dfertyouDeleted
vfghjkertDeleted
Leave a Comment:
You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
You're in XHTML Mode. If you prefer, you can use Easy Mode instead.
(XHTML tags allowed - a,b,blockquote,br,code,dd,dl,dt,del,em,h2,h3,h4,i,ins,li,ol,p,pre,q,strong,ul)
Newsvine Privacy Statement
As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
FUN STUFF:
  • Leaderboard |
  • E-Mail Alerts |
  • Top of the Vine |
  • Newsvine Live |
  • Newsvine Archives |
  • The Greenhouse |
COMPANY STUFF:
  • Code of Honor |
  • Company Info |
  • Contact Us |
  • Jobs |
  • User Agreement |
  • Privacy Policy |
  • About our ads
LEGAL STUFF:
  • © 2005-2012 Newsvine, Inc. |
  • Newsvine® is a registered trademark of Newsvine, Inc. |
  • Newsvine is a property of msnbc.com