Keşlik Monastery

Keşlik Monastery

Fresco-painted caves in an idyllic orchard

Cappadocia’s main draws the clustered chapels at reme’s Open Air Museum, villages like Çavuşın and underground cities like Derinkuyu draw dispiriting crowds. The enchanting places lie elsewhere.

Keşlik Monastery lies a short way up a discreet track off the main road near Cemilkoy to the south of Mustafapaşa. The site guardians, Mr and Mrs Coşkuner, maintain a delightful kitchen garden and orchards, much in the way that the monastery’s medieval monks must have done; beneath the shade of a trellis they invite visitors to tea, a courtesy which is included in the 5TL (£1.50) price of the visit. Those lucky enough to visit in the autumn should try one of the local apples, truly one of the glories of Cappadocia.

The main church is called Archangelos after a much-defaced fresco of Michael the Archangel. The frescoes are generally blackened by the centuries; the trick is stand by the windows, one of which throws light on an Annunciation scene, with a devil represented beneath a broken floor grasping the ankle of a figure who is himself clinging to the hand of the Christ. One of the chambers off the main basilica has a wonderful example of a wheel stone, troglodyte Cappadocia’s signature security door.

Nearby is a second church, Stephanos, with a roof decorated by delightfully vivid geometric frescoes reminiscent of kilim pattern.

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