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Greek Orthodox Churches in Anatolia
Z. Ozcan
Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of
Engineering
and Architecture, Gazi University, 06570, Maltepe, Ankara,
Turkey
Abstract
Anatolia exhibit the traces of different cultures representing
thousands of years. During the lastten centuries both the
Christians and Moslems created a culture of their own
together,regardless the religious differences. Among their
architectural heritage, the paper, presents asummary on the
historical background of Byzantine and Greek-Orthodox churches.
Theexamples constructed during the Ottoman period are discussed
with their architecturalcharacteristics as plans, construction
techniques, as well as the estimated construction dates.The paper
also includes the restoration applications of three churches chosen
from twodifferent regions, and also covers the architectural and
historical aspects of restoration inTurkey; as the buildings are
preserved without regarding their origins, considering them all
asinseperable units of the cultural heritage, not only belonging to
Turkey, but accepting them asthe cultural richness of the whole
world.
Introduction
It is an undeniable fact that "religion" has come into
existence, as soon asmankind began to think. The fear from the
"unknown, has perhaps been theorigin of beliefs. Primitive man
tried to protect himself from the changingphysical conditions.
Ceremonies were prepared, to continue the good will or tosmoothen
the violence of natural events. As a result of this, "nature-gods"
andeven "a god for each event" ruled the world for centuries.
Designing places ofworship and constructing edifices dedicated to
them, have been the reason ofman being on earth.
Beginning from the neolithic age nearly all the religions have
beenexercised in the Middle-East, especially in Asia-Minor. The
proof lies in theinnumerable sacred buildings and areas. The
remnants of the pagan world canbe summarized in the extraordinary
archaeological sites of Anatolia [1].Beginning from the neolithic
age, not only edifices, but also prayer spaces inthe name of a god
or goddess, were prepared in the Hittite and Lycian world[2].
Today, the remains of the famous Greek, Hellenistic and Roman
templesare as attractive as in the period they were
constructed.
Paganism left its place to the celestial religions at the end of
the 3rdcentury A.D. Between 4th and llth centuries Christianity and
beginning from
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46 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
Buildings
that time onwards Islam, Christianity and Judaism governed the
spiritual worldof Anatolia, together.
1.1. Buildings Consecrated to Celestial Religions
The believers of the these religions, namely Judaists,
Christians and Moslemspresented their sincere feelings to the Lord
in synagogs, churches and mosquesscattered all the regions of
Anatolia. Among these the synagogs are rare whencompared to the
other two. The remnants of a prosperous synagog in ancientSardis,
the well-known examples in Istanbul, seven in the historical
districtPunta of Izmir and a modest one in the old Jewish district
of Ankara are thosethat can be counted at first hand.
A considerable number of churches and mosques representing
differentperiods of time are wide-spread. Upto the 11th century
only churches, but
afterwards, although there are limitations, both were
constructed[3]. The smalltowns were so shaped that, the districts
were composed around a church and amosque, each at one end of the
settlement. There were never strict boundariesbetween the
districts, furthermore there were districts where the Jews,
Christians and Moslems shared as in the 16th century
Ankara[4].The mosques show a great variety in plans, in style (as
being Seljukid,
Principalities or Ottoman works) and in size (beginning from
small masjidsextending upto monumental examples).
Within the limits of this paper only the churches and especially
the Greek-Orthodox ones will be taken into consideration.
2 Historical Background and Classification of "Greek-
Orthodox" Churches
It is a certainty that Christian holy buildings of Anatolia
reflect thedifferentiation of sects and even ethnic groups. Among
them, the Greek-Orthodox and the Armenian, can easily be
distinguished as in the famousByzantine-Chora in Istanbul and the
Armenian Ahtamar in Van[5]. TheNestorian/Suroian churches of the
south-east Anatolia can be mentioned asanother group, while at the
eastern-Black Sea coast, Georgian influence ishighly efficient[6].
Among such a variety only the Greek-Orthodox churcheswill be
examined within the limits of this paper.
2.1 Historical Background of Greek-Orthodox Churches
When the Christian churches in Anatolia are examined two
different phasescan easily be distinguished: those belonging to the
Byzantine period and othersbuilt during the Ottoman reign.
Byzantine works can be summarized as the
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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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earliest rock-hewn churches and the built up examples. The
churchesconstructed during the Ottomans also indicate to two phases
as the ones uptothe midst of 19th century and the last group can be
dated back to the end of it.
2.1.1 Christianity in Anatolia
The troglodyte churches of the famous Cappadocia region are
accepted as theearliest examples, as there was a fair number of
Christians by the end of the
2nd century A.D. [7] The plan schemes are composed of a single
rectangularspace ending with an apsis. The "basilical" plan with
three naves and threeapses can be accepted as a progress. The
richly decorated rock- hewn churchesare a part of the geological
formation.
The built-up examples are mostly from the Eastern-Roman Empire,
as itwas a Christian state. This new art and architecture
progressed under theinfluence of Middle-Eastern cultures. Mainly a
basilical plan, semi-circularrecessed arches, a set of domes and
vaults, and masonary technique thatfavoured using brick and stone
together at regular intervals may shortlydescribe the primary
characteristics^].
Not only new churches were constructed but, also the pagan
temples wereconverted into the holy prayer places of this
religion.
2.1.2 Greek-Orthodox Churches Under the Sovereignty of
IslamAfter the invasion of Moslem-Turks at the beginning of the
llth century boththe churches and mosques began to be built
together. The prosperity of theByzantine churches continued until
the economical crisis that dragged theempire to its decline.
After the conquest of Constantinople and its beign converted
into Islamic
Istanbul, some of the churches too, were converted into
mosques[9]. Theimperial decrees of the Ottoman Sultans permitted
the repairs andmaintenance. The construction of new churches were
limited if not ceasedcompletely: In case a church was demolished
because of a disaster, a new onecould be built instead. The Greek
subjects of the Ottoman Empire werecompletely free in their
religions and liturgies but the construction of holyplaces needed
the "Sultan's firman". The Greek-Orthodox churches becamethe
continuation of the Byzantine tradition politically and
economically.
During the 18th century the minorities gained the right of
constructingnew churches and repairing the old with new
materials[10]. The applicationwas realized after 1840-50's, but,
prosperous new churches are mostly dated tothe middle of the 19th
century or even later.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of new
churchesgradually declined. Following the War of Independence and
the "ExchangeConvention" signed between the Turks and Greeks, the
building activitycompletely ceased, as most of the Christian
community migrated.
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48 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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2.2 Classification of the Greek-Orthodox Churches
A classification can be made depending on their "construction
materials" andrelated to this, their "sizes", The Greek-Orthodox
churches that were changedwith repairs had to keep their original
locations. The continuity of the oldByzantine churches and the
preservation of their original places owe theirexistence to the
restrictions brought by the Ottoman Sultans.
2.2.1 Construction Materials and Sizes of the Greek-Orthodox
ChurchesDuring the Ottoman PeriodThe basic construction technique
was the load-bearing system, easilydistinguishable as mentioned
above. Furthermore, it was a conventional way,to use the materials
brought from derelict pagan buildings. In the examples ofthe
8th-14th centuries the basilical plan scheme was achieved by a set
ofcolumns dividing the liturgical area into three, helping the
superstructure to becarried together with the exterior walls. The
women's part formed at the rearwall side bears the only
construction elements together with the nonstructuraldecorational
elements, iconastasis before the apses, stairs and the
wood-work.The roof structure of the vaults covering the central
naos and side aisles, wasof brick and finished with tiles over a
timber structure from the exterior. Thedome placed before the
central apsis could be finished again with tiles or sheetsof
lead.
Brick was an elementary building material but entirely cut-stone
churchesalso existed showing the regional differences.
It is difficult to estimate the construction date of the local
parish churchesbuilt during the Ottoman reign, as they were not
only rebuilt in their originalspaces but also were repaired with
reused materials, without examining thetitle-deed records and
permissions kept in the Ottoman archives. However, it isa certainty
that continuous repairs have greatly changed the buildings. In
therelatively later examples timber frame system, with timber
columns and roughstone infill, was used. In some, quoins of
cut-stones were applied. The sills andarchitraves of the openings
followed the same principle of using cut-stones asborders.
The reformist edicts of the 19th century gave permission to use
cut-stones,brand new materials, use of domes and heavy decorations
at the exteriors. Inthis period even the women's galleries are
constructed in stone. The local stoneor marble columns helped to
carry stone vaults of various forms, but againcovered with tiles
from the exterior. Although modest churches could have asingle
space and a single apsis, the plan schemes of the
Greek-Orthodoxchurches followed the basilical plan in general. The
central nave/naos waslarger and higher when compared to the sides.
This brought naturally a largerapsis/bema in the middle with two
relatively smaller on both sides. Thesuperstructure system
completely turned into vaults as the Ottomans always
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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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linked the dome with the Islamic idea. Depending on the
restrictions about thematerials, the churches were smaller in size
and lower in height whencompared to the Byzantine examples, as
timber brought its own limitationswhen used as a construction
material. Interiors were richly decorated, as thesewere not limited
at all, as well as the liturgy itself.
2.3 Greek-Orthodox Churches During the Republican Period
The Christian community reduced gradually during the Republican
period andmany of the churches and monastries distrubuted all
around Anatolia wereabandoned for a long time. During 1940-50's
edifices with sufficient sizes wererefunctioned as movies, local
theatres and even as prisons or storages.
After 1970's when the cultural properties are considered to be
conservedwithout regarding their origins or original functions by
the governments theywere taken under protection and were registered
if they have not been done sobefore. The churches were abandoned
again, but for the sake of the buildingsthis time.
Usually the reuse of the 19th century Greek-Orthodox churches
are easy torestore, as most of them are still in good condition.
They are refunctioned asmuseums mostly. Art galleries, exhibition,
conference or performance halls arethe preffered functions as they
do not contradict with the holy origin of thebuildings.
The modest parish churches, some of which badly in need of
restoration,are currently taken into consideration. Some others are
in the restorationprogrammes of either the local municipalities or
the Ministry of Culture.
3 Restoration Applications
Although conserving the old buildings has a long past, the
restoration activity,where modern techniques are applied, is a
relatively new task for Turkey. Theambition to restore the
vernacular/traditional architecture examples began at1980's. The
first attempts were carried out on stone constructions rather
thanthe timber-frame ones. One of the great difficulties arise in
finding skillfulmaster-builders as they are either considerably old
or have left the job and beenexperts on reinforced concrete
refusing to turn back. As the architect-conservationists are very
few in number, reliable measured drawings,restoration projects can
hardly be obtained. A part from the economicalsituation, thousands
of monuments or modest buildings making up thehistorical sites,
belonging to various cultures and periods are waiting theirturns to
be consolidated, restored, reused, refunctioned.
In this paper, three examples are chosen as the case-study, one
from theBlack-Sea littoral, the other two from inner-western
Anatolia. The first is anexample of a stone construction of the
19th century. The other two are timber
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50 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
Buildings
frame system. The first is restored; the others are at the phase
of project,design...
3.1 A Masonary Construction Along the Black-Sea Coast
"Gogara Church" located at the Black-Sea coast in the small
province-Giresunhas taken its name from the plane trees of the
district it was constructed in."Gogara" was the local Greek word
meaning the "plane trees". (The same nameis used for the district
in its Turkish version today.)
The building has a basilical plan with three naves and three
apses. (Fig. 1)
Figure 1: Plan of Gogara Church
The central nave and apse are relatively larger and higher than
the ones ontwo sides. The naves are enclosed with barrel vaults and
the dome before thebema together with the main construction
material, the cut-stone, indicate a19th century building. The local
records and travelogues estimate the midst ofthe century.
When the measurements were taken and drawings were prepared in
1979-80 the load-bearing walls were structurally solid except the
demolished frontpart of the main apsis. All the carpentry including
the door leaves were lost(Fig. 2). The floor finishing at the
interior, where the traces declaring itsmaterial, could never be
found. It was entirely destructed together with theinstruction
panels. The wall-paintings on the side-walls and under the
vaultswere badly deteriorated with moisture and leakages from the
roof. Still therewere traces at various places. Underneath the dome
there was a thick layer ofsooth. One of the most important problems
was a fig tree growing among thestones at the transition zone
between the roof cover and the dome.
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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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Figure 2:Gogara-Church in 1980 Figure 3:Gogara-Church after
restoration
The first proposal in refunctioning the building, was an arena
theatre, but,depending on the local necessities Gogara Church was
converted into aprovincial museum. The restoration programme
suggested a system ofprinciples beginning from the well-known
towards the least[l 1].
As the original quarry is still known, the local stone to
complete thedemolished part, is easily obtained. The project
proposed the chiselling of thestones, in order to distinguish them
from the original, but unfortunately it isneglected. As far as an
inscription panel dating the restoration is also lacking,the repair
work will never be understood later. For the missing window
framesand door wings a comparative study is done. Depending on the
existingexamples of the region the original wing system and glass
bars are fixed. Therestoration is completed with these details and
in timber. In order to preventmisleading imitational decorations
for the doors a plain timber set is applied.
The patches of wall-paintings on the walls and vaults could not
be saved asthey crumbled into pieces at every attempt. With the
fear of losing the whole,the paintings under the dome are left
untouched. Ten years after when anexpert on the subject is found
the patina is cleaned off. After the laboratory testof the colours,
the restoration is completed and the elaborately painted"portrait
of Jesus Christ" is seen again. As far as the floor finishing is
lackingan entirely new stone pavement of light colours matching the
original stoneparts of the church and a dark coloured border is
added to indicate that it is anapplication of the 20th century. The
decorative marbles of the exterior of theentrance openings were
cleaned by just washing and the cracks areconsolidated with
achemy.
In order to prevent a permanent division of the interior space
aprefabricated system made of aluminium studs and beams is used to
composethe storages and staff-rooms. It only acts as a seperator
with a very simple
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52 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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appeance and in dark colours again to indicate that it is a new
addition.Necessary illumination equipments are applied by the help
of the tie-rodsbetween the columns and arches connecting them. Some
of them found placeon column capitals. The sanitary units are
deliberately excluded. They areplaced in the neighbouring restored
traditional house, once used as the priestslodge. This building
also serves as the museum office.
The branches of the fig tree on the transition zone is cut off
and dilutedsulfuric acid is injected to the roots. After waiting
for three months the driedroots are picked up and the cracks are
filled with cement mortar.
The building is in use with its new function since 1990. (Fig
3).
3.2 Two Timber-Frame System Churches from Inner-Western
Anatolia
The churches chosen as examples are of timber frame system;
"KavakhChurch" in Burdur and "Haghios Stephanos Church" in
Egirdir-Isparta. Theyare approximately 70 km from each other. Not
only the constructiontechniques but also the materials used are the
same. In both churches, thestructural timber frame and the circular
sectioned columns inside are of junipertrees, once frequently met
in the region. The infill material is the local roughstones.
When the plan schemes are examined, Burdur Kavakli Church
reveals atypical basilical plan with three aisles and three apses.
Haghios Stephanos alsohas three aisles but just one apse before the
main nave (Fig 4,5).
Figure 4:Plan of Kavakli Church-Burdur Figure 5:Plan of Haghios
StephanosChurch-Egirdir, Isparta
Kavakh church is enclosed with three barrel vaults in the
conventionalway but, H. Stephanos has just one vault over the main
nave, the side aisleshave flat roofs. By the help of the lath and
plaster technique they were finished
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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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in the form of soffits. The profiled timber haunches formed the
ribbed-vault.The traces of timber laths indicate that they were
also finished in the sametechnique with the side aisles. The
damaged superstructure of this church givesclues for the Burdur
one, as they both reflect same peculiarities.
Kavakli Church still has a women's section although the stairs
werecancelled during the years when it was used as a movie. The
narthex, also builtby timber studs, were enclosed with cement
blocks during this period. Thetraces on the rear wall of H.
Stephanos indicates a timber constructed gallery.From the exterior
there was once a shed roof instead of a proper narthex.
Both churches are plastered with loam-mortar, painted over from
theinterior and bare stones are observable from the exterior. The
floor finisheshave been demolished entirely. There are no specific
ornamentations inKavakh Church, but in the other, there still exist
decorative medallions ofgypsum plaster on walls and over the arches
connecting the timber columns.They reflect resemblances with the
ornamentations of a 19th century church ata distance of
approximately 30 km.
The openings of the churches have been made distinguishable with
aborder of cut-stones. The superstructures are finished with over
and under-tilesas it is a conventional way in the whole region.
Finally, both the churches lackdomes (Fig. 6,7).
Figure 6: Kavakli Church-Burdur Figure 7: Haghios Stephanos
Church-Egirdir
Depending on the peculiarities mentioned above, it can be noted
that theymust be constructed before the reformist edicts of 1830's.
They should havebeen repaired or rebuilt before. Even a part of the
apsis wall of H. Stephanoshas the brick and stone wall construction
technique which is met in theByzantine period. But, the
ornamentations applied indicate a 19th centuryrestoration.
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54 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
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The restoration of H. Stephanos Church will be realised by the
Ministry ofCulture. As the neighbouring building is a school, it
will be refunctioned as asmall cultural center. In the restoration
the original materials still solid will bekept and the damaged ones
will be replaced with the new, in the same form andsize. As the
juniper trees are at a point of extinction, they will not be
used.Unfortunately cement mortar will be applied as it is cheaper.
Bare mouldingsof ornamentations will be placed just to show their
places and forms.
Kavakly Church will be refunctioned as a conference hall.
Themunicipality is responsible for the restoration. The 20th
century annex at thenarthex will be removed. Comparative studies on
the missing wood-work andfloor finishing is still continuing. Over
and under tiles will be used in bothchurches.
4 Conclusion
Restoration activities in Turkey still has problems. The number
and variety ofbuildings waiting to be restored are numerous.
Especially, the restoration ofmonuments depend on the financial
sources of the related ministries and localmunicipalities. The
priorities in the choice of the buildings to be restoreddirectly
rely upon the necessity programmes of the concerning region.
Technical staff, both in design and application phase are
insufficient innumber. Unexpected problems arise ending in
undeniable mistakes. Althoughrestoration attempts are in
considerable numbers, it is difficult to speak aboutmature examples
yet.
Even though there are various negative conditions at several
phases,restorations are realised on different kinds of buildings.
Both thearchaeological and architectural cultural properties are
tried to be restoredwithout considering their origins, the cultures
and societies they belong to.They all deserve to be restored,
maintained and preserved, as they make up thecultural heritage of
the world indeed.
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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical
Buildings 55
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