Religious structures were identified in the "Thousand and One Churches" area in southern Türkiye's Karadağ.

Karadağ, a dormant volcanic mountain located 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the city center on the Konya-Karaman border, draws attention to its surrounding historical buildings.

The area known as "Thousand and One Churches" is significant for Anatolian culture with its mostly surviving churches, monasteries and tombs.

Thought to have been a bishopric center between the A.D. fourth and ninth centuries and known as the Değle archaeological site, it hosts a significant portion of these structures.

On the slopes of Karadağ, which has been home to many civilizations for thousands of years, traces of dozens of civilizations from the Hittites to the Ottomans can be seen.

The area is home to numerous churches and monasteries and is sometimes referred to as the ancient city of Barata, although its ancient name is not definitively known.

As a place visited by Christian pilgrims traveling from Europe to Jerusalem, the region is considered one of the three most important centers of late antiquity. The area harbors a rich cultural heritage in terms of faith tourism, with dozens of churches, monasteries and tombs.

Last year, with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Archaeological Surface Survey of the Eastern Roman Period Religious Architecture of Karadağ's "Thousand and One Churches" was initiated in the region.

Led by associate professor Ilker Mete Mimiroğlu, chair of the Early Christian and Byzantine Arts Department of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Necmettin Erbakan University, the study added new findings to the inventory.

Mimiroğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Karadağ's sites are some of the known settlements from the early periods in Anatolia.

He emphasized that one of the most significant reasons for the attention given to Karadağ is its sacred sites, noting: "The mountain was considered sacred not only during the Byzantine period but also during the Hittite period. There are Hittite hieroglyphs and reliefs in many places on the mountain. This sacredness continued along with Christianity. The mountain itself was seen as sacred, leading to the construction of numerous churches."

He continued: "The word 'thousand and one,' used by the public in phrases like 'Thousand and One Nights,' 'Thousand and One Cisterns,' has been used for this area since the Ottoman period as well. Travelogues mention that the terms 'Thousand and One Columns' or 'Thousand and One Churches' was used for this place."

Mimiroğlu highlighted the better condition of the region's buildings in the early 20th century and pointed out that they are not just simple churches but also the tombs of saints and burial structures with distinct architectural features. These structures have been studied by many Western scholars in the 20th century.

In Türkiye, Semavi Eyice conducted research in this region, followed by the late Metin Ahunbay, who dedicated years of work here. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been fully shared or published.

"As the Department of Art History at Necmettin Erbakan University, with the support of Karaman's leaders, businesses and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we aim to continue and complete this unfinished work," he explained.

Monk cells discovered

Mimiroğlu stated that they have started surface research for the inventory, understanding the nature of religious structures and determining the names of settlements in the area.

"With our initial work, we have reached quite significant new results. Six new church structures were identified and recorded in the inventory. We identified numerous sarcophagi. In the mining town, 20 sarcophagi and covers were identified. At the Değle Archaeological Site, we also found monk cells, passages and architectural elements indicating various religious rituals," he said.

"Of course, these are preliminary findings, and research is ongoing. In addition, plans and surveys were taken with modern technologies for structures that were only planned in the early 1900s, and three-dimensional models were created. GPS coordinates were taken for all stone artifacts, and their models were created," he added.