--KAPAK ARAÞTIRMA kopya 1 - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

ceremonial spaces. The second hall (22), which is more formal than the first hall, is located
at the apex of the courtyard, and the basilica church (27) is to one side.
Hall One (Fig. 9) is rectangular and tall with a flat ceiling. It is also designed on
two levels. From Hall One, many other areas of the complex can be reached. Immediately
to the right as one enters the hall, a stairway (15) leads up into a gallery level
(12c) and then back down to a bathing area (19). Passing through the hall, one can also
take a tunnel (17) that leads either up to the gallery level (12b) or toward the second
hall of the complex. Hall One allows access to a variety of rooms in a roundabout pattern
of circulation, serving as the day-to-day living area of the complex. On the upper
floor, an arcade wraps around the hall creating a gallery level with views down and across
the hall’s open space. This arcaded gallery on the short end to the north (12b) and
the long end to the east (12c) is open. On the long end to the west (12a), however, the
arcade is partly blocked by a chest-high parapet, creating private and secluded space
with the household. This is a complicated and purposeful structure that testifies to the
exceptional quality of its designers.
Hall Two (Fig. 10: Hall Two, view of interior) is also rectangular and tall (22), but
larger and more elaborate than the first. A barrel vault adds significant interior volume
while details render a deliberate, linear experience of the space. A step on the floor and
a banded arch on the vault divide the hall in half. A Romanesque blind arcade on the
second half of the hall points to the significance of this area. On the back wall, a wide
doorway leads into a cruciform room with a carved cross on the ceiling (23). This room
at the back of Hall Two appears to have been the most prestigious space of the complex,
perhaps the ceremonial dining and reception room of the aristocratic owner of the
house with access to a private latrine (24). Across the courtyard from Hall Two stands
a large church with a basilica plan (27), an unusual plan for the time and place that differentiates
this complex even further from the others on site.
At Selime Kalesi, many spaces were carved during a secondary phase of use.
One room (8) includes a rolling stone designed to block a tunnel leading from Hall One.
Various tunnels and stairways lead from this room in different directions. A second phase
of use appears to have been defensive and inward-turning, a pattern of use also seen
at Çanlı Kilise that may correspond not to the Arab raids of the 8 th and 9 th centuries
but to the Selçuk incursions of the 11 th century 15.
Yaprakhisar
South of Selime and across the river at Yaprakhisar, several complexes preserve
the most spectacular rock-cut façades in all of Cappadocia. At most other sites the
façades have collapsed so that only the interiors of the complexes remain. At Yaprakhisar,
however, several examples preserve their full extent in height and length 16. Local
villagers use these areas for dwelling and storage so that the façades suffer not
only from natural erosion but also from continuous re-use over time.
Implementing the technique of photogrammetry, we produced a measured elevation
drawing of the largest and best-preserved example on site, Yaprakhisar Eleven
(Fig. 11, 12). In this example, the façade is four stories tall and five bays wide. Engaged
piers separate the bays, and blind, horseshoe-shaped niches decorate each bay.
A verandah on the top floor provides spectacular views out toward the valley and Selime
in the distance. This façade is truly monumental and points to prestige architecture
meant to impress the visitor.
Each façade marks the main entrance into the central hall of the complex, and
each is designed in exact symmetry. An equal number of bays or arches flank the central
doorway. In this group of façades at Yaprakhisar, a variety of contemporary medi-
15 R. Ousterhout, "Survey of the Byzantine Settlement at Çanlı Kilise in Cappadocia: Results of the 1995 and 1996 Seasons,"
Dumbarton Oaks Papers 51 (1997) 303, 305.
16 Prominent courtyard complexes at Çanlı Kilise, Açık Saray, and various sites around Göreme, such as Hallaç and Bezir
Hane, do not preserve either the full length or height of their original courtyard façades.
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