Goreme Open Air Museum

Cappadocia E-pass includes free entrance to Goreme Open Air Museum. Reserve your ticket via E-pass customer panel and get in with your QR code.

At the end of the 2nd century, there was a significant number of Christian communities in Cappadocia. Malatya and Kayseri were seen as important bishopric centers in this period. Of these, Kayseri (Caesarea) has maintained its importance as the center of Christians for centuries.

It is 13 km from Nevsehir and 2 km east of the town of Goreme. It is a rock settlement. From the 4th century to the 13th century AD, an intense monastic life was experienced. There are churches, chapels, dining halls, and sitting areas in almost every rock block. Today's Goreme Open Air Museum is considered to be the place where the monastic education system was started.

Basilius the Great, the archbishop of Kayseri in the 4th century, had a great share in the organization and reshaping of the Christian doctrine. Even today, these views follow in the footsteps of some Christian societies and St. Basilius the Great with the Gregorian church. In times of famine, he advised a Christian who had a single piece of bread to "pide that bread in two and give half of it to someone hungry, and to leave himself under the protection of God". Basilius the Great preferred a life close to the people, intertwined with the people, instead of the monastic life, which was very closed and isolated from the people. As a result of this mentality, he had monasteries, churches, and chapels established in Cappadocia, not far from the settlements, with the great efforts of his brother Gregorius of Nyssa and Gregorius of Nazianos; He ensured that daily prayers were held in these places under the supervision of the clergy.

The clergy in Cappadocia, during the reign of Basil the Great, were not separated from the people, as in Egypt and Syria, and were still not privileged. Apart from the monks who were in seclusion, other clergy preferred to worship in congregation. This kind of religious education system started in Goreme and continued in Christian centers such as Soganli, Ihlara, and Aksaray. Cappadocia churches are famous for their murals, which we call frescoes. These paintings are usually in two stages. In the first, the paintings were made on the wall and red ocher was used. This type of painting consists of various decorations, shapes, and symbols. In the second stage, a plaster of plaster, sand, and straw was made on the rock wall, and on this plaster, scenes from the Bible depicting the life of Jesus were depicted.

The Final Word

Goreme Open Air Museum is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a natural and cultural asset since 1985, December 6. Visit and explore this historical place with Cappadocia E-pass now.