Buckle Church (Tokali Kilise)

Just outside the museum exit on the right is the Buckle Church, the largest of the cave churches at

Göreme. It can be entered with the same ticket as the main complex and should not be missed. The

frescoes are also the finest in Göreme, with the richest colors and the most detail. It dates from the

10th and 11th centuries and was restored in the 1960s.

Crucifixion, early 10th century fresco in the Tokali Church

The Buckle Church is comprised of four

chambers, which are known as the Old

Church, New Church, Paracclesion and Lower

Church. The OldChurch (10th century) has a

single nave with a barrel vault. The frescoes

give a comprehensive account of the life of

Christ, from the Annunciation through the

Baptism and Miracles and ending with the

Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. The

Transfiguration is painted over the entrance

and the vault has portraits of saints.

Holy Marry and Baby Jesus

The Old Church now acts as a narthex for the NewChurch, which was added to the former's east side

around 990-1010 AD. Its barrel-vaulted nave tells the story of Christ in deep red and blue hues. The

transverse nave has frescoes of saints, scenes from the life of St. Basil, and the miracles of Christ.

The largest church in the region, it is situated on a slope a few hundred metres from the group of

churches within the Göreme open-air museum. The entrance, today, opens onto a long, barrel-

vaulted atrium which leads to a transverse nave, somewhat larger in scale. The nave is separated

from an apse by a series of four columns supporting five arches. The apse is high and narrow. The

narthex and atrium are known as the “old church” and the large flanking nave as the “new church.”

Both parts of the church date from various periods, as do the frescos. Those on the walls of the old

church are dated to the beginning of the 10th century and are executed in a primitive provincial

style. The frescos of the new church, which date to the second half of the 10th century, however,

possess a quite well-developed realism. The use of blue pigment as in these frescos is

iconographically unique for the region.

The walls are decorated with frescos of scenes

from the New Testament, in frieze form,

particularly scenes from the life of Christ.

There are also representations of saints and

scenes from the iconography of the saints.

Among the frescos are those illustrating an

account of the life of Basilius, archbishop of

Caesareia.