1. Buckle Church (Tokali Kilise)
Just outside the museum exit on the right is the Buckle Church, the largest of the cave churches at
Göreme. It can be entered with the same ticket as the main complex and should not be missed. The
frescoes are also the finest in Göreme, with the richest colors and the most detail. It dates from the
10th and 11th centuries and was restored in the 1960s.
Crucifixion, early 10th century fresco in the Tokali Church
The Buckle Church is comprised of four
chambers, which are known as the Old
Church, New Church, Paracclesion and Lower
Church. The OldChurch (10th century) has a
single nave with a barrel vault. The frescoes
give a comprehensive account of the life of
Christ, from the Annunciation through the
Baptism and Miracles and ending with the
Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. The
Transfiguration is painted over the entrance
and the vault has portraits of saints.
Holy Marry and Baby Jesus

2. The Old Church now acts as a narthex for the NewChurch, which was added to the former's east side
around 990-1010 AD. Its barrel-vaulted nave tells the story of Christ in deep red and blue hues. The
transverse nave has frescoes of saints, scenes from the life of St. Basil, and the miracles of Christ.
The largest church in the region, it is situated on a slope a few hundred metres from the group of
churches within the Göreme open-air museum. The entrance, today, opens onto a long, barrel-
vaulted atrium which leads to a transverse nave, somewhat larger in scale. The nave is separated
from an apse by a series of four columns supporting five arches. The apse is high and narrow. The
narthex and atrium are known as the “old church” and the large flanking nave as the “new church.”
Both parts of the church date from various periods, as do the frescos. Those on the walls of the old
church are dated to the beginning of the 10th century and are executed in a primitive provincial
style. The frescos of the new church, which date to the second half of the 10th century, however,
possess a quite well-developed realism. The use of blue pigment as in these frescos is
iconographically unique for the region.
The walls are decorated with frescos of scenes
from the New Testament, in frieze form,
particularly scenes from the life of Christ.
There are also representations of saints and
scenes from the iconography of the saints.
Among the frescos are those illustrating an
account of the life of Basilius, archbishop of
Caesareia.