The ruins of the Üçayak Byzantine Church (; "Three-legged Church") are found in

Kırşehir Province Kırşehir Province () is a province in central Turkey, forming part of the Central Anatolia Region. Its area is 6,584 km2, and its population is 244,519 (2022). The average elevation is approximately 985 meters above sea level. The provinci ...

in Central Anatolia, Turkey. The church is unique in several respects. It is built on a remote location, without any evidence of any artefacts in the surrounding area, apparently in a completely isolated place, with no signs of human habitation. Its architectural design has been described as executed on an "exceptionally high artistic level". Other unusual features include a double or twin-church design, its all-brick construction (with the exception of its foundations), and its sloping walls. It has been dated to around the late 10th to 11th centuries. The style of the church is

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. It is located in the southern part of

, near the village of Taburoğlu, which is approximately six kilometres from the

Yerköy Yerköy is a town in Yozgat Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yerköy District.

Yozgat Yozgat is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yozgat Province and Yozgat District. The church has been an Immovable Cultural Property of Turkey since 1994.

History

The Byzantine name of the location of the church is unknown. Proposed names include Justinianopolis, Pteria, and Mokissos. Taburoğlu, the closest settlement to the church was known as Tabira in antiquity. It is widely speculated to have been dedicated to Emperors

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

(976–1025) and

Constantine VIII Constantine VIII (;Also called Porphyrogenitus (), although the epithet is almost exclusively used for Constantine VII. 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was ''de jure'' Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Empe ...

(976–1028). Near the church, there is a

water spring A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important fo ...

, but the absence of any human artefacts in the vicinity indicates that the church was built on a completely isolated and uninhabited area. One suggestion is that it commemorated the victory of

over Bardas Phokas. The remnants of the decorations of the facades, its sloping walls, and its architectural style led to its chronology being placed to late 10th or 11th centuries AD. On the

Yerköy Yerköy is a town in Yozgat Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yerköy District.

road in the north of Kırşehir, an inscription gave the name of St. Lukianos. The first report on the church was in 1842 by W. F. Ainsworth. His travel notes on the church were used by

John Winter Crowfoot John Winter Crowfoot CBE (28 July 1873 – 6 December 1959) was a British educational administrator and archaeologist. He worked for 25 years in Egypt and Sudan, serving from 1914 to 1926 as Director of Education in the Sudan, before accepting a ...

who visited the ruins in 1900, and were eventually published by

Josef Strzygowski Josef Rudolph Thomas Strzygowski (March 7, 1862 – January 2, 1941) was a Polish-Austrian art historian known for his theories promoting influences from the art of the Near East on European art, for example that of Early Christian Armenian archi ...

in 1903. The

1938 Kırşehir earthquake The 1938 Kırşehir earthquake occurred at 12:59 local time on 19 April. It had an estimated surface-wave magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum intensity of IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 224 casualties. See also * List of ea ...

caused the dome arches of the church to collapse.

Architecture

The construction of the church, solely using bricks as the medium, is very unusual in Byzantine architecture. The church foundation was made of stone. In 1900, John Winter Crowfoot reports a pinkish external layer covering the brick walls. In-between the walls, base material, consisting of rubble, stones and other fillers, was used. The filler material was supported by a wooden-beam structure.

Double naves, apses and domes

The church design is very unusual for Byzantine architecture. The church is constructed as a double-church featuring two naves adjacent to each other and separated by a wall. The naves were quadrangular and each featured a separate

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The naves have a common

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

of an oblong shape. The twin church design at Üçayak has two

s (naoi) each with a separate semi-circular apse. Each apse includes a rectangular bay in front of it. The double-church design is even more unusual because the two churches were constructed at the same time, as opposed to being built sequentially, which was the construction method employed more often for churches of this type. Scholars speculate that the double church was constructed either in honour of two distinct saints or martyrs, or because a Byzantine emperor and his wife built it; the latter explanation being more probable, since no crypts or other artefacts, attesting to the worship of saints or martyrs, have been found.

Niches

The exterior walls are decorated by arches that recess into the walls forming

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development and growth *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ec ...

s. The same technique had been used for the church of

Çanlı Kilise Çanlı Kilise, meaning "bell church" or "church with a bell", is a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine-era ruin site located about 15 km southeast of the city of Aksaray in Turkey. It consists of a large rock-cut settlement surrounding a prominent ...

in Cappadocia and the Church of the

Dormition of the Mother of God The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the '' Theotokos'' ("Mother ...

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

(modern-day Iznik). The recessed arches and the all-brick wall construction of the Üçayak church provided an impressive architectural element to its design.

Decorations

In 1900, John Winter Crowfoot reports faint traces of a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

decorating a

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

. Even at that time, it was difficult to discern any details of the theme of the fresco other than what appeared to be a series of heads with

halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

es. Crowfoot also reports that there were traces of two illegible inscriptions when he visited the site in 1900. The inscription may have contained clues as to the reason for building the church at such a completely isolated area.

Restoration

The church is a rare example of early Byzantine period architecture in Kırşehir Province, which is considered to be located within the area occupied by ancient

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

, or at the border of the Byzantine provinces of

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

and Cappadocia.

Ahi Evran University Ahi or AHI may refer to: Organisations and companies * Action Health Incorporated * Adventist Health International * American Hellenic Institute * (Association of Independent Comic Creators), an Argentine organisation * Azrak-Hamway, a defun ...

is planning restoration and conservation of the ruins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Üçayak Byzantine Church 11th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Buildings and structures in Kırşehir Province Byzantine churches in Cappadocia Double churches Ruined churches in Turkey