Cappadocia Zelve

Zelve

Zelve is situated on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1km from Pasabaglari (Monks’ Valley) and 5 km from Avanos. The ruins at Zelve are spread over three valleys, which also house several pointed fairy chimneys with large stems.

Like the ones in Uchisar, Goreme and Cavusin, it is not known when the rock dwellings in Zelve were first inhabited but it was an important settlement and religious area during the 9th and 13th centuries. The first beminaries to priests were given here.

The Direkli Churc (with Columns), situated at the bottom of the slopes, dates back to the early years of monastery life in Zelve. The main decorations are high relief crosses belnging to the Iconoclastic doctrine. Some of the most important churches in the valley are Balikli (Fish), Uzumlu (Grape) and Geyikli (Deer), belonging to the Pre-Iconoclastic period.

The valley was inhabited until 1952. Apart from monastreies and churches, houses, a tunnel joining two of the valleys, a mill, a mosque and several dove-cotes are found in the valley.

Balikli and Uzumlu Churches

Balikli and Uzumlu Churches are situated to the east of a monastery courtyard, in the third valley in Zelve. Above the entrance of the Fish and the Grape Churches, which has partly collapsed, is the depiction of Enthroned Mother Mary holding Baby Jesus. On the partly collapsed vault are Archangels Gabriel and Michael holding up a Maltese Cross.

To the right of the entrance is the single naved, barrel vaulted cell-like “South Chapel” with an apse. Inside the chapel, on the sides, there are seating platforms. On the apse, in a red frame, is Jesus standing and holding a book in one hand and blessing with the other. The front of the apse is decorated with series of simple triangles and circles with dots in them and the vault with drawn Maltese Cross and concentric circles. The chapel probably dates back to the 10th century.

Formerly known as the “Monks’Valley” (Rahipler Vadisi), Pasabaðlari is situated about 1 km from the Goreme-Avanos road. Many fairy chimneys with multiple stems and caps some housing chapels and living areas can be found here, this style being unique to this area. A chapel dedicated to St.Simeon, and a hermit’s shelter is built into one such fairy chimney with three heads. The entrance of the cell, which can be reached with antithetical crosses.

St.Simeon was living in seclusion near Aleppo in the 5th century, when rumours that he worked miracles started to spread. Disturbed by all the attention, he began to live at the top of a 2m high column, and later moved to one 15m in height. From there he only descended occasionally to get the food and drink brought by his disciples.

The hermits of Cappadocia distanced themselves from the world by cutting into fairy chimneys rather than living on top of columns. They hollowed out the chimneys from to to bottom creating rooms 10-15m high. THey lay on beds made form rocak, fed by locals via bucketed ropes to their lofty perches.