Cappadocia is one of the travel routes you can spend to the full due to its historical geographical features. There are many churches in the region due to the fact that it has hosted different civilizations for thousands of years and some of these societies belong to the Christian religion. One of these churches is Apple church. It is noteworthy that it has a very similar structure to the Dark church, one of the popular churches of the region.
Elmalı apple church is one of the many museums in Göreme open air museum. It was built as a small cave church. The church has 9 domes. If there are 4; column is available. The work, which is planned to be faithful to the closed cross architecture, has 3 apses in total.
Look south, you have to use a tunnel to reach the entrance gate. The entrance from the tunnel is; It is estimated that the church was also used as a shelter in the past.
The motifs on the wall of the Elmalı church, which is thought to be one of the oldest examples of the Early christian period, were directly engraved on the wall. There are red-colored fresco engravings that were used frequently in the 12th century.
When you look at the engravings in Apple church, you can see that there are scenes from the Bible, as in many churches. Religious motifs include baptism, burial and ascension of Jesus, and the last supper. Differently, it is noteworthy that there are drawings of the Prophet Abraham and Jewish youth.
In order for the Apple church, which is thought to have been built in the second half of the 1000s, to continue its existence, restoration works were carried out in 1991. During these works, no changes were made in the architecture and the original of the work was preserved. However, the studies were not enough to prevent the fresco paints from spilling. For this reason, some of the drawings have disappeared, while others; is in a corrupted state.
The name of the Elmalı church is; It is estimated that it came from the drawings found in the church. It is thought that the apple found in the hand of Michael may have given its name to the church. In addition, the fact that there are many apple trees in the region may be the source of the name.
You should not forget that photography and videography is prohibited during your visit to this rare church, whose motifs have been preserved in its original form.
Apple Church is located in Göreme open air museum. Access to this area, where the most visited structures of the region are located, is extremely easy. Minibus services are organized frequently during the day. You can use your own vehicle or rent a bicycle. You can also join Cappadocia tours to visit Apple church and other structures in the vicinity. In this way, you can get more detailed information about the church and visit it from a different perspective.
Apple church is affiliated to the Ministry of culture and is not actively used for religious worship. For this reason, it is only visited during working hours. Working hours are; may change periodically.
Where is Elmali Apple Church Map
Apple Church Pohotos
