UNDERGROUND CHURCH

UNDERGROUND CHURCH / 3rd-7th century AD

 There is an underground prayer room used by the early Christians living here at the center of the settlement converted from a rock tomb of the previous Roman period. It is a tomb with seven steps, single entrance and three klines which has been originally built under the ground by carving the bedrock and it must have been used in the 3rd century AD. A small group of people who lived here converted the grave into a sanctuary and performed their prayers here subsequently with the permission given to praying Christianity in the Roman world. At this stage, the kline in the east was carved from two sides and transformed into a sanctuary and the sign of cross and some characters were engraved on the eastern walls. The kline in the north was destroyed and converted into a second entrance gate and the sign of cross was carved on both sides of the door.  A large hole for ventilation was opened on the ceiling of the kline in the south inasmuch as the place was used for worship. Outside and right in front of the structure there is a pool carved into the bedrock, used for baptism. Additionally, a niche has been opened to place lamps on the eastern wall of the sanctuary. This reveals the fact that the sanctuary was illuminated and used also in the evenings. The large church which still exists in our day in the settlement must have been built due to the increasing number of community members living here.

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