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Açıksaray “Open Palace”: a Byzantine rock-cut settlement in Cappadocia
Abstract
Courtyard complexes formed entirely out of the volcanic rock mass in Cappadocia, in Central Anatolia, differ from the other rock-cut structures in the region, in both scale and elaboration of design. There are more than forty such complexes in Cappadocia, either gathered in one location or isolated. Located on the Nevşehir-Gülşehir road, Açıksaray contains nine such complexes in close proximity, many of which feature monumental façades as well as reception areas and utilitarian spaces such as large stables around a courtyard. This paper, in the light of survey results, presents site analysis and architectural readings that lead the discussion of the nature and stages of occupation at Açıksaray. By doing this, the paper aims to bring new insights to the discussion on courtyard complexes, adding details and nuance to our understanding of the Açıksaray settlement, while noting similarities with other settlements in the region. Underlining the secular and elite character of the Açıksaray settlement, this study contributes in particular to enlarging the picture of medieval life in Cappadocia, and in general to the studies of Byzantine domestic architecture, for which architectural evidence is still scarce.
... Cappadocia was essentially considered as a region of Byzantine monastic communities, until the end of the 20th century (Epstein 1979;Kostof 1972;Ousterhout 1996;Tozer 1881). The recent studies convincingly challenged this perception (Kalas 2004;Kalas, Luyster, and Walker 2009;Ousterhout 2017;Öztürk 2014), while a number of domestic complexes have been studied in detail (Kalas 2007;Ousterhout 2005;Öztürk 2010). The rock-cut 'courtyard complexes' in Cappadocia that are mainly dated to the Medieval Byzantine period are an important group in this context, usually identified as elite residences (Ousterhout 2017;Öztürk 2014). ...
... The recent studies convincingly challenged this perception (Kalas 2004;Kalas, Luyster, and Walker 2009;Ousterhout 2017;Öztürk 2014), while a number of domestic complexes have been studied in detail (Kalas 2007;Ousterhout 2005;Öztürk 2010). The rock-cut 'courtyard complexes' in Cappadocia that are mainly dated to the Medieval Byzantine period are an important group in this context, usually identified as elite residences (Ousterhout 2017;Öztürk 2014). While the details of the complexes are studied further and the discussions on their function and use are elaborated, the soundscape has never been a part of these discussions until present. ...
Rock-cut structures of Cappadocia, which are enlisted as natural and cultural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, have particular acoustics due to the specific tuff stone belonging to the region. This study, for the first time, discusses the indoor sound fields of the Cappadocia over five selected spots (one church and four residential halls) from Middle Byzantine sites of Hallaç, Açıksaray and Avanos with an aim of providing evidence regarding the spatial features and culture of the people inhabited these spaces. Acoustical data is collected during in-situ field tests. Acoustic parameters (EDT, T20, T30, C80, CD50, and STI) are obtained for the spaces under study. The rock-cut church is found to be the most reverberant among all the spaces and the most suitable for liturgical practices. The other four spaces are observed as comparatively more favorable for speech-related activities. The study also compares the sound absorption performance of Cappadocian tuff stone to those present in other natural caves and rock-cut structures investigated throughout the world in few prominent studies.
... Bölgede genel olarak 10.-11. yüzyıllara tarihlenen avlulu komplekslerin toprak sahibi sınıfa ait konutlar olduklarına ilişkin tartışmalar için özellikle bkz.Mathews, Christine & Mathews, 1997;Kalas, 2000;Öztürk, 2012;Öztürk, 2014. Soğanlı Han'ın, karşı yamaçtaki Geyikli Manastırı ile sahip olduğu görsel ilişki nedeniyle, manastırın kurucusu Ioannes Skepides'in konutu olduğu önerilmektedir(Ousterhout, 2000, s. 89-91; Ousterhout, 2017, s. 300). ...
Bu çalışma, Soğanlı Vadisi’ndeki bazı kayaya oyma kilise ve yapı topluluklarını ele almayı, bu yapıların içlerinde ve yakın çevrelerindeki gömüler ile vadi içindeki konumlarına dayanarak, hangi biçimde geliştiklerine ilişkin öneri getirmeyi hedeflemektedir. Bu amaçla ele alınan yapılar, 26, 27 ve 27a no.lu kiliseler, Azize Barbara kompleksi, 29, 30, 31 ve 32 no.lu kiliseler, Yılanlı Şapel, 1 ve 2 no.lu kiliseler, Karabaş kompleksinin iki kilisesi, Kubbeli kilise kompleksi, ve Geyikli Manastırı’nın doğusundaki kaya kütleleridir. Bir dini veya domestik yapı topluluğu ile fiziksel bağlantısı olmayan, gömü yoğunluğuna sahip veya az sayıda gömüyle sınırlı kalmış bazı kiliselerde, karşılaştırma malzemesi sağlayacak resim programına veya tarihlemeye yarayacak yazıta rastlanmaz. Yine de bu kiliselerin, vadideki dini ve domestik yapı topluluklarıyla liturjik ve yapısal bağa sahip olabilecekleri unutulmamalıdır. Başta sözü edilen yapıların ele alınması sonucunda Soğanlı Vadisi’nin şu tipte kilise ve yapı topluluklarına sahip olduğu önerilebilir: Bir aile üyesinin mezarını barındırma gibi bir amaçla başlayan, sonrasında hem bir mezarlık olarak genişleyen hem de aile kilisesi olarak kullanılan kiliseler; önemli bir dini figür etrafında gelişen, ve dini topluluğun varlığını sürdürmesinde böyle bir figürün gömüldüğü noktanın etkin olduğu kiliseler; bir asetik veya yalnızca bir köylü etrafında genişleyen, köy nüfusunun kullanımına açılmış ve köylülerin de gömüldüğü kiliseler. Çalışmanın sonunda görüldüğü gibi, vadideki gömüler, içlerinde bulundukları kilise ve yapı topluluklarının ortaya çıkış nedenlerine ve nasıl ilerlediklerine ilişkin yorum yapabilmemizi sağlamaktadır.
The monumental rock-cut façades of the tenth to eleventh century-mansions – so-called
courtyard complexes – in Cappadocia, central Turkey, are rare examples of secular
Byzantine architecture. While these symmetrically designed façades adorned with
superimposed arches differ from the simpler ones (both carved and built) in the region,
they bear striking similarities to others from the broader Mediterranean basin. This
article offers new insights into the discussion on the uniqueness of the rock-cut façades
of courtyard complexes and reconsiders the raison d’être of this ‘false’ monumentality
in the rural setting of Byzantine Cappadocia.
This article presents unpublished images that survived from the time when Cappadocia was a province of the Byzantine Empire. It adduces supplementary information to that provided by the most recent works about this geographical area: my article “Shrines and Schools in Byzantine Cappadocia” (2019), and Robert G. Ousterhout’s book Visualizing Community: Art, Material Culture, and Settlement in Byzantine Cappadocia (2017). One novelty my talk brings is to indicate the fact that, even though traditionally only Mary is presented as undergoing the test, in the Cappadocian art Joseph is also subjected to it.
Additionally to this iconographic motif, my piece shows and comments on an unpublished image that represent a very rare topic known in iconography as ‘Christ’s first bath’, which is a part of the decoration that embellishes the walls of Karabaş Kilise, or, in translation, ‘The Big Church’, in Soğanlı Valley, southern Cappadocia.
The literary sources for both these visual themes are the apocryphal texts known as the Protoevangelion of James and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew.
This article has two distinct sections: the first discusses churches and the second schools in Byzantine Cappadocia. Between the fifth and the eleventh centuries the churches in this province of the empire were not only the places where the liturgy was performed, but also the social and spiritual centres of villages, towns, army garrisons, monastic complexes, etc. They fulfilled the same specific functions regardless of the purpose and scale concerning the settlements in which they were located. The article provides evidence to illustrate what these functions were and, to some extent, by which means they were accomplished. It also makes some suggestions with respect to the physical appearance of schools in the area. In so doing it allows plausible generalisations regarding the layout of other educational establishments throughout the empire. As known, there has not been substantial material published on this subject in the field of Byzantine Studies and any contribution made on this topic should be welcome.
This article has two distinct sections: one refers to churches (i) and one to schools (ii) in Byzantine Cappadocia. Between the fifth and the eleventh centuries the churches in this province of the Empire were not only the places where the Liturgy was performed, but also the social and spiritual centres of villages, towns, army garrisons, monastic complexes, etc. They fulfilled the same specific functions regardless of the purpose and scale concerning the settlements in which they were located. The paper provides evidence to illustrate what these functions were and, to some extent, by which means they were accomplished
It also presents some suggestions with respect to the physical appearance of schools in the area. By doing so it allows plausible generalizations regarding the layout of other educational establishments throughout the Empire. As known, there has not been substantial material published on this subject in the field of Byzantine Studies and any contribution made on this topic should be welcome.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European travellers and explorers who discovered Cappadocia's exotic landscape of volcanic rock formations introduced the notion of a region populated by monks. Although written sources of the medieval period are silent in this regard, scholarship has persisted with this notion about the region ever since. Perhaps the general eighteenth- and nineteenth-century understanding of Byzantium as a period of decline following the Golden Age of Classical Antiquity reinforced the monastic interpretation. According to Edward Gibbon (1737–1794), the later history of the Roman Empire in the east was ‘a uniform tale of weakness and misery.’