SOGANLI VALLEY

Soğanlı Valley in southern Cappadocia is a stunningly unique spot with numerous rock-cut churches and a traditonal Turkish village.  Originally settled during the Roman period, the stone cones on the slopes of the valley were used as graveyards by the Romans and later as churches by the Byzantines.  The beautiful frescoes in the churches date from the ninth through thirteenth centuries.  The major churches in the Soğanli Valley are Karabaş (Black-Headed Church), Yılanlı (Church of the Serpent), Kubbeli (Domed Church), and Saint Barbara Church, and most of their paintings and decorative flourishes remain intact.  Many of the churches also contain inscriptions that provide the exact dates of construction.

Soğanlı Valley embodies the harmony between humankind and nature.  Over the centuries, local people carved shelters in the cliffs and rock cones of the valley.  They also used the plentiful rocks provided by nature to express their religious faith and their devotion to God.