MUSEUMS OF NEVSEHIR
Nevsehir
is in the Central Anatolian region of Cappadocia and the
site of the Rock Churches. The first steps to establish
a museum in Nevsehir were taken when archaeological and
ethnographic works were stored in the Damad Ibrahim Pasha
Library. Later on in 1965 the Imaret (soup kitchen) building
of the Damad Ibrahim Pasha Kulliye was repaired and turned
into a museum. It was opened to the public in 1967.
Nevsehir
Museum :
The
Nevsehir Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum is housed
in the Imaret building. Sadrazam Damad Ibrahim Pasha built
it at the beginning of the XVIII century. It has three
rooms, which are arranged as follows:
Room
I:
This room contains photographs of architectural works
and clothing from the XVIII century, miniatures depicting
scenes from palace life, manuscript books and writing
sets.
Room
II:
This room contains archaeological works. These include
prehistoric axes and earthenware dishes, Hittite pottery,
Phrygian fibulas and ornaments, Byzantine bracelets and
mother of pearl pictures of Jesus, and various objects
from the Roman period.
Room
III :
This room contains ethnographic works and examples of
hand craftsmanship. Among them are porcelain and tiles,
dishes, console gas lamps, clothing from the Ottoman period,
bows and arrows, weapons, kitchen utensils, and jewelry.
Exhibited
in the garden of the Museum are large water jars from
the Byzantine period, millstones and inscriptions, grave
steles, sacrificial altars and building stones from various
periods.
Hacibektas
Museum :
Hacibektas
Museum was opened in 1964 in the Haci Bektas Dergah kulliye
in the Nevsehir sub-province of Hacibektas. The museum
consists of three rows of courtyards from west to east.
The museum is entered through the Main Gate (Cross Gate).
It opens onto the First Courtyard at the west side.
First
Courtyard :
On the right hand side of the First Courtyard is a fountain
in the style of the Ottoman period called the 'Three Fountains'.
To the left is the old Guest House of the Dergah. An arched
gate called the 'Triple Gate' leads into the Second Courtyard.
Second
Courtyard :
At the entrance to the Second Courtyard is an inscribed
rectangular pool. To the right is a niche decorated with
rows of arches inside one another. It contains a marble
statue of a lion, from whose mouth issues a fountain.
To
the right of this courtyard is a two-story row of rooms.
These are the Bread House and Kitchen of the Dergah. The
room nearest to the gate was originally that of the chef.
The second door leads to the pantries and the third to
the Kitchen. The stoves, kitchen utensils and Karakazan
(a black cauldron considered sacred by the Bektasi order
of dervishes) are exhibited in the Kitchen. The rooms
on the upper floor are now used as offices and depots.
The
rooms to the left of the courtyard are called the Hall
House. This section was the place where the dervishes
performed their ceremonies (called Ayni Cem). At the entrance
is a Hall Stone where they used to place torches. The
roof of the Hall Room is domed and raised high on thick
joists to symbolize the seven layers of sky above the
earth. The room contains a stove, animal skins on which
the sheiks sat and a throne of light, a raised platform
on which the dervishes would place candles. The side rooms
are now used to exhibit carpets, embroidered prayer mats
and clothes.
The
upper floors of the Square House are now used to house
the museum library.
Mescid:
At the far end of the Second Courtyard near the Kitchen
is a mescid with a single dome and minaret. The Ottoman
Sultan Mahmud II built it. The mescid is open for worship.
The Sixes Gate leads from the Second to the Third Courtyard,
called the Saints Courtyard.
Third
Courtyard:
On the right side of the Third Courtyard is the grave
of Dedebaba and the Balim Sultan tomb. On the opposite
side is the Haci Bektas-i Veli Tomb.
A
three arched exedra leads to the Tomb. To the right and
left of the exedra are the sarcophagi of the Bektasi Fathers
who rendered service to the Dergah. From the exedra a
marble portal called the White Gate leads into a dark
corridor. On the right side of the corridor is a small
vaulted domed room called the Red Cell. This room is considered
to be the heart of the Dergah. It is said to be the cell
of Haci Bektas.
A
second door leads from the corridor to the Hall. It has
a domed roof. It was built during the reign of the Ottoman
Sultan Suleyman the Law Giver. The cases in the hall contain
objects used in the Dergah by the Bektasi dervishes such
as tablets, candlesticks and lamps.
In
the east wall of this hall is the Supplication Window,
and to the south and north are the crowned sarcophagi
of sheiks and other high ranking members of the order.
Huzur-u
Pir and Tomb :
On the right side of the hall is the Tomb of Haci Bektas-i
Veli. The carved marble door, which leads into the Tomb,
is called the Huzur-u Pir. The tomb is of typical classic
Seljuk period style. It contains the sarcophagus of Haci
Bektas. It is covered with an embroidered cloth.
Balim
Sultan Tomb :
Hizir Bal who died in 1516 was the second great leader
of the Bektasi order. He made great contributions towards
its organization. The tomb has a classic pyramid shaped
dome. It is situated on the south side of the Third Courtyard.
In front of it is a three-arched exedra from which a small
door leads to the room where the sarcophagus of Balim
Sultan is situated. A second sarcophagus belongs to the
brother of Hizir Bal, Kalender Mursel Bali who died in
1544. Candlesticks are exhibited in the tomb.
Objects
from Karacahoyuk :
Findings from excavations at Suluca Karahoyuk near Hacibektas
are also exhibited and stored in the Hacibektas Museum.
Urgup
Museum :
Archaeological and ethnographic works from the region
of Urgup were at first exhibited in the Peoples Library
from 1965 until 1971. When the new museum building constructed
in Urgup, the works are exhibited there. The works in
the museum can be divided into two groups :
Archaeological:
Contains prehistoric ceramics, and dishes, figurines,
lamps, steles, statues, metal and glass objects and ornaments
from the Hittite, Phrygian, Roman and Byzantine periods
Ethnographical:
Contains clothes, embroidery, tapestries, jewelry, manuscripts
and weapons.
Stone
works and clay water jars are exhibited in the Museum
garden.
Goreme
Open Air Museum :
The
ashes from the Erciyas volcano affected this 30-km2 area
between Nevsehir, Urgup and Avanos. Rock layers are of
differing degrees of hardness. This led in time to erosion
by wind and rain. It results in the strange Goreme landscape.
It is composed of pillars of soft rock usually topped
with a cap of hard rock. The people of the region call
these formations 'fairy chimneys'. The majority of them
have been hollowed out and used as houses, churches and
monasteries. The region of Cappadocia was famous as the
center of Christianity in Anatolia in the Byzantine period.
During the VII and IX centuries AD the Christians of the
region carved many churches and monasteries out of the
rocks and decorated them with frescoes. After the iconoclastic
prohibition was lifted in Christianity, illustration of
events described in the Bible with representative wall
frescoes in the churches and 'monasteries began once more.
This tradition continued until the XII century. The frescoes
in the rock churches of Goreme have a unique and significant
place in the history of Christian art.
Among the churches in the Goreme valley is the 'Barbara
Church with a picture of St. Barbara, the Carikli Church
decorated with scenes from the life of Jesus from his
birth to the Ascension, the Elmali (Apple) Church which
again is illustrated with scenes from the life of Jesus,
the Karanlik (Darkness) Church decorated with bible scenes,
the Tokali Church depicting various religious events,
and the Yilanli (Snake) Church which contains a picture
of two horsed figures battling with a dragon, Jesus and
other figures.
There
are other groups of churches at the Open Palace, Avanos,
Avcilar, Ortahisar, Uchisar and other places within 30
km. from Nevsehir. Interesting churches among those at
these places are Zelve, Cavusin, Tavsanli, Pancarli, Kizilcukur,
Gulludere and Halasdere.
Underground
Cities:
The Christians living in Cappadocia were from time to
time obliged to hide themselves in underground dwellings.
The most important of these underground cities were opened
up after 1965. They were cleaned out, lit up and opened
as museums. The most important of these are those at Kaymakli
20 km. south of Nevsehir, and at Derinkuyu 48 km. from
Nevsehir. Both of them have rooms on five levels linked
by labyrinthine paths. There are also underground cities
at Avanos, Ozkonak, Cardak, Karacaoren, and Mucur.
