MRA-TUR-Ihl010
Sample ID
- MRA-TUR-Ihl010
Dimensions (cm)
- Length
- 1.2
- Height
- 0.4
Geographic Location
- Detailed location not available
- no
Historical note about the site/monument
The Snake church belongs to a subset of churches in Ihlara the Valley employing mural paintings of a local type, albeit with Persian and Syrian influences. The plan of the church, which was constructed in the late 9th century, is cross-in-square. It is decorated with a mural program roughly coeval with the creation of the church, and it is from a depiction of serpents in an image of hell on the narthex that the site takes its name. The subjects of the mural cycle include uncommon figures, such as the Rabbi Gamaliel, alongside more conventional themes including the Last Judgement and the Ascension. The church also includes a small burial room, with a frescoed arcosolium.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihlara_valley
https://www.cappadociahistory.com/post/snake-church-ihlara
Further reading:
Inomata, K., & Kijima, M. SPACIAL COMPOSITION OF CHRISTIAN PAINTINGS IN THE CAVE CHURCHES OF IHLARA VALLEY, CAPPADOCIA.
Date of sampling
- Unknown
- Yes
Photos/Documents (provenance)
- Description
- 2. The entrance to the church (photo by Ji-Elle, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yilanli_Kilise_(1).jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Description
- 1. Frescoes on the ceiling of the church (photo by Ji-Elle, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yilanli_Kilise_(5).jpg / CC BY-SA 3.0)