Kilikia Bölgesi’nde Bulunan Kızılgeçit Kaya Kilisesi Resim Programı | The Frescoes Repertoire of Rock-cut Church of Kızılgeçit

Abstract

The rock-cut church of Kızılgeçit located in the eastern mountainous part of Kilikia Region, east of the canyon near the village of Kızılgeçit of Silifke. The church was discovered as a result of during Erdemli-Silifke Surveys. The dimensions of church are 6,70 x 9,23 m and it has a single nave plan type carved into the rock irregularly. This building attracts attention in terms of its decorations which was considered to be important since it has not been encountered in the region until now. For this reason, in this work was aimed to introduce this church to the world of science. Baptism scene of Jesus is depicted on the north wall of church. Deesis figured at the apsis and Ascension to the sky is depicted on the part of the ceiling which has domed slightly. In addition to these scenes, there are saints depicted in bishop clothing on the eastern parts of the north and south wall of the building. St. Theologos and St. Basileios are on the north wall, St. Khrysostomos, St. Nikolaos, St. Stefanos stand on the south wall. When the scenes are examined, the silhouette seen in a worn part of the figure of Mary in the apse part and the halo seen in the back of the throne of Jesus, which is also in the apse, proves to us that there is an earlier phase of the church’s frescoes. The decorations of the church were evaluated with inter-regional examples in terms of iconography and style and were dated.

Keywords

• cilicia
• cave church
• byzantine art
• architecture
• fresco