Çanlı Kilise, meaning "bell church" or "church with a bell", is a Byzantine-era ruin site located about 15 km southeast of the city of Aksaray in Turkey. It consists of a large rock-cut settlement surrounding a prominent masonry church which lends its name to the whole site. A rare masonry church from the historical region of Cappadocia, the church is one of the best examples of Byzantine masonry architecture in central Anatolia and is frequently cited in textbooks on Byzantine architecture. Surrounding the church is a series of rock-carved houses carved into the south side of a hill (locally called Manastırtepe, or "monastery hill") over a distance of about one kilometer. Across the broad valley to the south, the peaks of Hasan Dağı are visible. Çanlı Kilise is accessible by a road winding its way from Akhisar, 4 km to the west on the plain below, up through a rugged hilly area en route to Çeltek, which is 6 km north of Çanlı Kilise on the same road.
Based on its architecture and the styles of the paintings, Çanlı Kilise appears to primarily date from the 10th and 11th centuries. It then went into a period of gradual decline before being abandoned altogether, perhaps as late as the 14th century. There is a high concentration of large "courtyard" houses, indicating that it was a prosperous agricultural settlement or kome, with many affluent landowners. Çanlı Kilise is the best-known example of these houses, which probably represent mansions belonging to members of the landed military nobility in Cappadocia. Today, some of its rock-cut complexes are used by local farmers as shelters for livestock.
Although now somewhat remote, the settlement at Çanlı Kilise was close to important sites during its heyday and thus would have been relatively well-connected. Nearby Aksaray was then called Koloneia and served as an important crossroads for the region, while the major episcopal center of Mokissos lay a short distance to the southeast at the foot of Hasan Dağı. Most importantly, at the old site at Akhisar (above the present-day village), there are traces of a fort which has been identified with the Hisn Sinan of contemporary Arabic sources. Guarding the entrance to the Cappadocian highlands, Hisn Sinan was the most strategically important Byzantine fortification in the region, and one of the most critical defense points in all of Asia Minor. Given how close the two were, the settlement at Çanlı Kilise must have been closely associated with the one at Hisn Sinan.
Name The site is named after the prominent church ruin called Çanlı Kilise, meaning "bell church" or "church with a bell", supposedly because of a bell that once hung in its dome, which collapsed in the early 1950s. Although some locals claim to have seen the bell before the dome collapsed, such a bell does not seem to have ever actually existed; nothing of the sort appears in early photographs taken of the church by Gertrude Bell in 1907. The name may also be derived from the bell-like shape of the dome itself, or from the two-storied narthex's resemblance to a bell tower. Another tradition once related by Greek villagers was that the name was because the sound of bells ringing could inexplicably be heard near the church.
The original Byzantine name of the site is unknown. However, taking into consideration that it was a royal Byzantine settlement and built in the years of Basil II, it's possible that it could’ve been dedicated to him. The sheer size of the church, coupled with its location, and many other factors, indicate that it likely would’ve been dedicated to a Byzantine noble/royal. Some of the emperors of this time period were Nikephoros II Phokas, Constantine VIII, Constantine VII, and a much more likely link to the royal Phokas family. One suggestion is that it commemorated the victory of Basil II over Bardas Phokas. In the interior of the Çanlı Church, It is decorated with frescoes about Jesus and his Apostles.
Settlement
The settlement at Çanlı Kilise follows a reverse S-curve along the southern slopes of two distinct plateau areas. The eastern area is topped by a layer of limestone, with a lower layer of purplish-gray volcanic tuff. This tuff layer is softer and the houses are mostly cut into it. The area further west is lower and formed of harder gray tuff. The northwestern end of the settlement is marked by a precipitous ravine. At the northeastern end, below the modern road to Çeltek, is the old Byzantine road, cut into the bedrock with wheel ruts still visible. Both ends of the former settlement appear to have been fortified with masonry structures at some point after it was originally built.
The reason why the settlement used rock-cut architecture instead of free-standing buildings is due to the nature of the building materials available locally. Like elsewhere in Cappadocia, rock formations are mostly soft volcanic tuff and compressed ash that are easily carved but also easily weathered. As a result, they were better suited for rock-cut architecture.
In some areas, the settlement is cut into layers of tuff that are directly above unstable layers of volcanic ash. These areas have been heavily affected by erosion: some structures had collapsed, and in one case part of the rock formation containing the chapel separated from the rest of the complex and slid down the hill.
The settlement primarily consists of houses cut into the rock and arranged around a central courtyard. About two dozen such courtyard houses are visible today, numbered Areas 1 through 23 from east to west. Since a lot of the rock has collapsed, it's possible that the rock cutting was even more extensive.
Most of the larger courtyard houses have a series of dovecotes on an upper level, which originally would have been hidden behind the decorated portico façades; the portico façades have since collapsed, leaving the dovecotes exposed. These dovecotes were there to provide dung for fertilizer, which would have been necessary for agriculture in a region lacking in rich soil.
Many of the houses appear to have been subdivided after they were originally built; as the prosperity of the settlement decreased, the houses came to accommodate multiple families.
In addition to the rock-cut structures and the Çanlı Kilise itself, there are also traces of a couple of other masonry churches: foundations of two above Area 12 and another near Area 2. There are also a few areas with masonry walls, which served either as retaining walls to protect the courtyard houses from landslides or as defensive structures. These appear to have been built after the courtyard houses themselves and were probably built during the period of decline when the inhabitants were threatened by raiders and the natural erosion of the site.
About 30 churches and chapels have been identified at the site. The most common plan is the cross-in-square, like the Çanlı Kilise itself, but several have a cruciform or cross-shaped plan instead.
Areas 1-4 Area 1, at the northeastern end of the settlement, is the largest courtyard complex. In addition to the main rock-cut house surrounding the courtyard, there are also multiple clusters of rock-cut rooms on the north and east. These rooms were probably used for things like storage, agricultural production, or keeping livestock, and perhaps also as residences for servants or tenants. There is also a rock-cut cemetery, with at least 16 tombs, in the northern area.
Further south, Area 2 (the area between Area 1 and the Çanlı Kilise) is filled with lots of rock-cut architecture, suggesting a high population density in this part of the settlement. This is also true of Area 3, which includes the area immediately around the Çanlı Kilise and to the west. Both areas have been affected heavily by landslides and collapses, however, making much of the rock-cut architecture inaccessible.
Just southwest of Area 1's courtyard house is the foundation of a freestanding masonry church, which was set on a level platform cut into sloping bedrock. Further southwest, Area 2 includes two separate ranges of rock cuttings, one upper and one lower. The lower part consists of two smaller courtyard units, each one surrounded by several smaller rooms that appear to have served agricultural functions. The upper part contains one isolated cave with some built additions as well as three separate groups of rock-cut rooms. One of them, located just below the cave, may represent the remains of another courtyard house, but is now mostly buried by landslide. In the north of Area 2, there is a rock-cut church now mostly buried; it has an unusual layout (it's shaped like a trapezoid, and the axis changes multiple times within the structure), possibly because its position on a slope caused difficulties for its builders. The only inscription found at the settlement was found in this church; its orthography suggests an early middle Byzantine period date.
As Area 3 contains the area immediately surrounding the Çanlı Kilise, it "should be critical to the interpretation of the role of the Çanlı Kilise within the settlement", but this area has been heavily damaged by landslide and collapse, making a lot of it inaccessible. Immediately north of the Çanlı Kilise is a rock-cut façade that predates the church; the area behind the façade has collapsed, creating a large depression. West of the Çanlı Kilise is a similar area "with depressions and fallen masonry, indicating that there was significant built and carved architecture in this area." Just south of the Çanlı Kilise is a masonry wall, which may have been intended to protect the structures further downhill from landslides. The upper level of these structures are severely eroded, while the lower level is what may have been "a small but elegant residential unit". Further west are some more rock-cut rooms as well as a small rock-cut church. Because of the landslides that have affected this area, it's not clear if the church was originally grouped with the Area 3 construction or if it was originally part of the now-collapsed Area 4 courtyard unit.
Area 4 includes two courtyard units, which are now interconnected. One is now almost entirely caved-in and buried by landslides; it is just west of the rock-cut church in Area 3 and the two may have originally been grouped together. The other, which is better preserved, faces north and contains a series of rectangular halls lined up along the façade. The main hall is about 5x12 meters in size; it has a transept on the east side that connects to an adjacent hall, which then connects to an underground refuge down a long, narrow corridor. Another entrance to this refuge is found in one of the rooms west of the main hall.
This refuge is one of several at Çanlı Kilise; they are similar to the so-called "underground cities" of Cappadocia, but smaller in scale. This one, called Refuge 1, has only three or four levels, although there are several blocked corridors preventing them from being explored. Refuge 1 also connects to the upper level of Area 5.
There is a second refuge accessed from Area 4 — on the eastern part of the upper level, there are three tunnels extending northward from what was probably a room in the northeast corner of the courtyard unit. The easternmost tunnel is now blocked and inaccessible, while the other two connect to Refuge 2. Refuge 2 appears to have originally been a separate courtyard house was open to the south, but was later buried by a landslide and then converted to an underground refuge. Above ground in this area, there are also remains of masonry architecture.