Goreme-Avanos

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Interior of a vast church or possibly a monastery, badly eroded now.  All the surviving churches date from around 850 AD.  It is said there were some 365 churches in the valley at one time.  One for every day of the year.  Thirty are in stable enough condition to allow visitors.
Ochre-toned frescoes at the entrance to a rock church.  The eyes of the figures were gouged out when the area became inhabited by Muslims who believed them to be graven images.  Flash photography is forbidden inside the churches as it will damage the frescoes.
Barbara Kilise 

 Built in the typical form of an inscribed cross with a central dome supported on four pillars.  The simple architectural details were enhanced by professional artists paid for by local notables. Saint Barbara's church is adorned with  severe iconoclastic decorations from a time when human images were banned.  There are a few later images of the Virgin and St. Barbara.

Pottery in the village of Avanos.  We had intended going by bus but we engaged a guide at the Open Air Museum and asked him to drive us around for the afternoon.  This particular pottery is little more than a shopping opportunity for tourists and I found it of little interest.
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