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The Byzantines in Anatolia Turkey
The
Byzantines in Anatolia
Even though the
Byzantines were almost a city-state in the last period of
their Empire, many traces of the early period Byzantine
Empire can be found in Anatolia. One of these is the
palace found along the Izmir-Kemalpasa road. This
multi-storied structure resembles the Tekfur Palace. In
terms of their style of decoration, the home and chapel
of the Mother Mary and other churches found in this
region are almost small copies of the churches of
Istanbul. The Church of the Mother Mary in Bulbuldagi
near Izmir is also important as a pilgrimage site. It is
widely believed that Mary spent her last years in this
city and that she died in this mountain cottage. Many
Christians make the pilgrimage to this site every year.
Turkey
Remains of certain Byzantine castles can be spotted in
various areas of Thrace. The ones still considered intact
are those at Silivri, Enez, Vize, and Kiyikoy. Another
Byzantine ruin in Vize is the Vize Church. This structure
was later converted to a mosque and, while its name was
changed to the Suleyman Pasa Camii, it is still
remembered as the Hagia Sophia.
Today only a small section of the castle built by the Emperor
Hadrian in Edirne is still standing, although most of the
building was still intact during the past century.
Another Byzantine masterpiece of Edirne is the
clover-shaped Church of the Hagia Sophia. Unfortunately,
the only remains we have of that structure is a faded
photograph. Only the ruins of the Enez Cathedral remain
to be seen in Enez. Built in the shape of the Greek
cross, the western side of this structure is longer than
the other sides, giving the building a Basilica-like
apparent. Another ruin is the church dating from 1345 in
Silivri. This church was built by Alexios Apokaukos who
was later to be lynched.
The ancient city of Midye (Kiyikoy) crossing the Sakarya
River. According to was built on a clifftop of the Black
Sea. Here today are the ruins of a monastery, church, and
sacred fountain. The church is a very important and
unique structure in that it was built within the hollowed
out cliff, and has, itself, a cliff-like appearance. The
Byzantines constructed a number of buildings and towers
in the area of the Izmit Bay which were used for military
purposes. The Eskisehir Tower in Gebze is probably in the
best condition today. This tower was built on a site
allowing it to control both the road and the sea.
According to some researchers, this tower is where
Mikhael Palaiologos VIII was imprisoned by the Niceaen
Prince Ionnes Lakaris IV after the prince blinded him and
stripped him of the throne. The Coban Tower overlooking a
hill on the Yalova-Niceae Road is also a Byzantine
remnant. Another example of Byzantine architecture is the
Dark Church near Yalova.
One of the other very important architectural works of this
people is the bridge crossing the Sakarya River.According
to the writer Prakopios,"The Justinian Bridge was built
over the Sakarya River by the Emperor Justinian and
through the power of Divine Intercedence." This
twelve-arched bridge is 430 meters long.
Other important Byzantine remains can be found in the city of
Nicaea (Iznik). During the thirteen-century crusade, a
period in which the Empire was in the process of
disintegration, Nicaea became the capitol of a Byzantine
Principality and it was surrounded by Roman walls. One
side of these walls faced the land, while the others
rested against the cliffs.
The rooms within some of the large towns of the walls were
decorated with fresco painted by artists of that period.
The Hagia Sophis Basilica stands in the middle of the
city. This structure was badly damaged in the eleventh
century by an earthquake and was then restored. The
floors of this cathedral are covered with very fine
mosaics. The other church in Nicaea is the Koimesis
Church. This church was damaged during the last days of
the War of Independence in a battle between the Turks and
the Greeks. Only photographs remain of the former
mosaics. There are enough remains however to understand
the basic plan of the church.
One of the Byzantine remains in the Aegean area is the Sardes
Basilica. Ephesus was also an important center for the
Byzantines. The Mother Mary replaced the goddess Artemis
as a figure of supplication. The Basilica of the Mother
Mary was built over an ancient structure in the year 431
AD. During the 7th century AD, certain hermits traveled
from the Sinai and built chapels along the shores of the
Bafa Lake and on its tiny islands. A tiny chapel remains
on the Kahve Asar island. This chapel was built according
to the plan of the Greek cross and its eastern side is
decorated with bricks. Monasteries are found in the Ikiz
and Kapikiri Islands. There are also remnants of the
Styles and Yediler monasteries in the nearby
mountains.It is believed that St.Paul lived here. In
Byzantine sources it writes that the monastery at Yediler
is the Kellibaron Monastery.
BYZANTINE REMNANTS IN ANKARA
Ankara's symbol, its tower, is a structure built by the
Byzantines in the ninth century. Also to be found in
Ankara is the church that was constructed out of the
remains of the Temple of Augustus. It is also believed
that the Afyon Tower which was constructed on the rocks
in a remnant of the Byzantine period. In Cappadocia there
are many rock-hewn chapels, churches, and hermit's
retreats dating from the earliest period of Christianity
and, then, also used by the Byzantines. Most of these
structures have frescoes in them. Some of these depict
Saint Helen, Constantine, and Saint George. The church of
the monastery in Eskigumus has been decorated with great
attention to detail. Numerous wall paintings can be seen
in the Ihlara Valley. One of the very unique
characteristics of this region is the underground cities.
One of these underground cities is at the town of
Derinkuyu. The city was built by hollowing out floors
upon floors of stone and quite surprising techniques were
used to provide fresh air and a system of locks. Another
underground city is Godet which is in the
Yarimkale-Karaman region near Kirsehir.
Trabzon is another important Byzantine center in Anatolia.
Trabzon utilized unique regional building techniques.
Today, however, only one wall with two windows remains of
the Commenos Palace. The religious buildings of this area
have been better preserved. One of these is the Church of
St. Anne which carries an inscription stating that the
church was repaired by the emperor Basileos I in 885. The
building today which is known as the Ortahisar Mosque was
the church of St. Eugene in the Byzantine period. The
Hagia Sophia church was built outside the city proper in
the thirteen century. The bell tower of the church has
been very well preserved. The interior of this bell tower
is decorated with frescoes dating from the fifteenth
century. Two of the most important remains from the
Byzantine period are the Kizlar Monastery built in the
hills above Trabzon and the Boztepe hermit caves which
were hollowed out of the rocks. The most important of all
of the Byzantine ruins of this region, however, is the
Sumela Monastery. First the cliffs of the mountain were
hollowed out to be used as a church and then this complex
was developed into a monastery. This construction took
place in the fourteenth century during the Commenos
period.
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