Kokar Kilise (The Smelly Church)
is located in the first quarter of the Ihlara Valley between Ihlara Village and
main entrance. It can be entered through a ruined apse. The original entrance
has been blocked by a landslide. The Church was designed in a single nave. The
frescoes in the Church building date to between the 9th and the 11th
centuries AD.
There are many frescoes covering
the walls of Kokar Kilise. On the left side, you can see the Annunciation, the
Visitation, the Proof of the Virgin, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi
scenes. On the right, the visitor can see the Last Supper, the Betrayal, Jesus
being Led Away, Jesus before Annas and Caiaphos, the Crucifixion and the
Entombment. On the door facing the entrance there is a Deisis above, with
scenes of the Flight to Egypt and The Last Supper below was badly damaged when
openings were made at a much later date for windows and a door leading into the
burial chamber. On the ceiling you can see the Ascension and the Pentecost
together with a large Greek cross with the hand of God giving benediction in
the centre. On each side of the lower parts of the vaulting there are frescoes
depicting the apostles standing and seated.
As is evident through the
pictures, it is unfortunate how many have felt the need to write on top of
these ancient icons, destroying them for ever. Leaving aside the religious
importance these icons and churches have for the Orthodox, and generally the
Christian World, it seems that the people who wrote on them had no sense of
their significance on many levels, i.e. religious, cultural, historic, artistic
etc. Nevertheless, we are still able to see their beauty and past glory,
despite these carved writings.
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