Geographic, Geologic and Human Factors Affecting the Selection of Church Sites in Niğde Province, Central Anatolia Region, Turkey

Abstract

The geologic features (e.g. tufaceous, to their softness) of the Cappadocia region offer a suitable environment to shelter humans, and during the early period of Christianity they provided protection against threats that came from outside of Niğde (e.g. pagan religions). The region was oppressed due to the local acceptance of Christianity, and people lived by taking refuge in these underground cities where they also constructed their temples. This led to the initial spreading of the Christian religion around Anatolia. These underground temples were replaced once above- ground stone ashlar churches (SACs) were built, beginning in the eighteenth century. This study presents an analysis of the geological, geographical and human factors that played a role in selecting the sites of the churches. The main controls for site selection were found to be the rock type, morphological class and presence of roads. At the present time, these churches are protected by Law No. 2863 introduced in 1983 on the ‘Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property’.