The Monastery Church of Eski Gm

Author(s): MICHAEL GOUGH

Source: Archaeology, Vol. 18, No. 4 (DECEMBER 1965), pp. 254-263
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41667557
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The Monastery Church of Eski Gms

By MICHAEL GOUGH

FAADE of the monastery church at Eski Giimii. Photograph courtesy of Sonia Halliday.

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In southern Anatolia not far from the northern

foothills of the Taurus Mountains is Eski Gm

("Old Silver" in Turkish), the older quarter of a

small Turkish town. It lies about five miles from the

modern town of Nigde, just south of the main high-

way to Kayseri (the ancient Caesarea Mazaca) and

only two miles from the hamlet of Andaval (ancient

Andabalis) where the so-called Basilica of Constantine still stands, its once fine paintings now overlaid
by soot.

The rock-cut monastery at Eski Gm was first recorded in 1909 by the Belgian scholar Henri Grgoire.
His short account of the church, illustrated by one
photograph of the faade, is accurate, but he could
describe only a part of the wall paintings, since the
rest were covered by a thick deposit of lamp-black,
soot and dust. From that time onward it received little

notice until in 1961 a schoolmaster from Nigde, Bay

Ahmet Akif Ttenk, suggested that I should visit the
church. It was soon clear that Akif Bey's insistence
on the high quality of the paintings was justified, and

every summer since 1962 a British expedition has

been employed in cleaning and restoration work.
The monastery occupies a long tufa ridge which is
cut into cells, dove-cotes and storage rooms, many of
them still in use. At the eastern end of the ridge the
church is approached through a tunnel which opens
into a square courtyard (1 on the plan) entirely ex-

cavated from the rock. With walls forty-five feet

long and of equal height, it resembles a huge cubic
light-well which, when the sun is high, illumines the
church and other public rooms that open from it. The
north wall of this courtyard is hewn in the semblance
of a faade, with a blind arcade of a type familiar in

the churches at Greme, north of Nigde (see map),

and more recently (since the appearance of N. and M.

Thierry, Nouvelles glises rupestres de Capp adoce

[Paris 1963]) in the Peristrema Valley not far from
Aksaray, in the area of Hasan Dag.
Behind this faade lies the church itself, entered
through two doorways, one at the northwest corner of
the courtyard, leading into the exo-narthex (2 on the

plan), the other into the narthex proper (3 on the

plan). A door in the center of the east wall of the
narthex leads into the nave. (The main axis is slightly
north of east, but for our present purposes the orienta-

tion will be treated as normal.)

The exo-narthex is a roughly hewn, barrel-vaulted
chamber with little claim to distinction. A few large
storage pots sunk in the floor may have been used for
water when the monastery was functioning or, alternatively, have been placed there later as receptacles
for grain and animal fodder. Their use cannot be determined until they are cleared, together with many

more sunk into the floors of other rooms and passages

in the rest of the monastery complex.
The barrel-vaulted narthex, on the other hand, was
cut from the rock with meticulous care and is charm-

ingly if simply decorated. Each wall is carved with a

blind arcade, with the arches springing from slender

pilasters. Painted on the rock at the normal height

of a capital and across the intervening spaces runs a
narrow band of guilloche with red and black strands,
and the same motive is also used on the face of some

of the arches themselves; others are decorated with

alternating red and black triangles, an arrangement

used as the border motive of the southern and north-

ern lunettes. Equidistant from a central boss, from

which a lamp was once suspended, are two Maltese

crosses, one black, the other red. Two more are
painted above the doors leading to the exo-narthex
and the nave of the church respectively. In the center

of the southern lunette is a fine Latin cross carved in

high relief and decorated with chevrons. This type of

non-figural decoration is sometimes designated as be-

longing to the iconoclastic period (717-867), when

representational art was forbidden, and some examples at Greme, where abstract designs are overlaid
by figured scenes, lend plausibility to the theory.

At Eski Gm there is, at least, no doubt that the

narthex decoration antedates the main body of painting in the church, since in its southeast corner the last
three arcades were cut away to the level of the background to prepare the surface for a painting of the
Virgin and Child flanked by the archangels Gabriel
and Michael. This picture, although much worn owing
to its easy accessibility, is similar in style to paintings
in the central apse of the church - paintings which
may cautiously be assigned to the twelfth century.
The rest of the decoration in the narthex, described
above, is manifestly in an earlier tradition, though not
necessarily executed much before the figurai paintings

in the church. According to Pre Jerphanion ( Les

glises rupestres de Cappadoce [Paris 1927-1942]),
the cross in square plan (of which the church at Eski

Gm is an example) was not adopted in Greme

until the tenth century, and as the narthex offers the
only access to the church from the courtyard, the abstract paintings may well belong to that century or
even later.

The church, which measures a little over 16 ft. 6 in.

square, has a projecting eastern apse (5 on the plan)
flanked by shallow niches to the north and south. A
small cupola is *' supported" by four heavy columns
on octagonal plinths, with rectangular members suggesting capitals. These columns were veneered with
plaster on which the dark background was decorated
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Monastery Church continued

with a pattern of long-petaled rosettes in gray-green
or red. At the west end, on either side of the door

opening, is an arcosoltum (arched recess) with a narrow ledge, while in the center of the north wall an
arched opening gives access to two tombs, the nearer
one slightly below the level of the threshold, the other
raised. At the northeast corner of the church a small

tunnel leads to a sizable chamber with a single deep

rock-cut grave.

In the narthex and church proper only certain sur-

faces were chosen for painting. The picture in the

southeast corner of the narthex has already been mentioned. In the church the central apse and its flanking
niches, together with a large area of the north wall,
were decorated. The rest of the rock surface was care-

fully chiseled, probably in preparation for plastering,

but it was left blank and so set off with greater effect
the isolated areas of painting.

In 1962, the first season of work at Eski Gm,

two registers of painting in the central apse were

easily recognizable. The lower consisted of full-length
figures of the Doctors of the Church, five of them on
either side of a Virgin orans, while the upper depicted

the busts of the Apostles and Evangelists. In the

conch of the apse, in spite of a thick layer of soot

and dust, it was possible to make out a central Christ
PLAN of church and precincts: 1) courtyard, 2) exonarthex, 3) narthex, 4) church proper, 5) apse.

Pantocrator, with the symbols of St. Matthew and

St. Luke issuing from the right-hand side of His
throne. On His extreme right stands the Virgin, her
hands raised in supplication and, closer to the throne,

the Archangel Michael. Owing to the decay of the

plaster under the action of damp, part of the left side

of the Pantocrator has disappeared, together with the
symbols of St. Mark and St. John. Indeed, only the
outer figure of St. John the Baptist, balancing the
Virgin and so completing the Deesis, remains intact;
a small fragment of the lower part of Gabriel is just

discernible. Over fifty years ago Grgoire saw the

whole picture, but the reconstruction would in any

case be obvious.

To the north of the apse a remarkably beautiful

and individual Virgin and Child filled the niche
there; this was balanced on the south by another in
which a painting of St. John the Baptist by the same

artist was recognizable, though his head had been

DRAWING of the painting on the narthex wall, at right

lost, again owing to plaster decay. As for the north

wall, an Annunciation painted on either side of the
arched opening disclosed the sensitive skill of a third
artist whose work, like that of the artist of the apse,
was in the full tradition of the Byzantine revival under the Macedonians and Comneni. Above this scene,

tween the archangels Gabriel and Michael.

in which only the heads of Gabriel and the Virgin

of church entrance, showing the Virgin and Child be-

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could then be appreciated, owing to the accumulation

of dirt and candle grease on the lower part of the

figures, it appeared at first glance that there was no
more painting to be discovered. However, the glint
of gold leaf - part of a halo - and some shadowy outlines on the lunette persuaded us to make some tests.
In the soffit of the arched opening the frontal figures
of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist were visible.
In 1963, when work began on the north wall, two
major compositions - a Nativity and a Presentation came to light, both painted by the master of the Annunciation. Owing to their long protection by soot,

neither was more than superficially damaged, and

heads and features were generally well preserved.
The Nativity, which occupies an oblong panel immediately above the Annunciation, is notable chiefly for
the disposition of many small scenes against a unify-

ing background, and also for meticulous draughtsmanship. The scene is set in just such a rock-cut
stable as is still to be found in Cappadocia. The center of the composition is occupied by the Virgin re-

It will be seen that all the letters of the square have

been used to form two crossed Pater Noster with an

alpha and omega to begin and end each. Whatever

the value of this ingenious rationalization, the use of
some or of all the words as names for the shepherds of
the Nativity is attested at Greme, and notably in the
Peristrema Valley. The last two letters of the name
Tenetor at Eski Gm might possibly be thought of
as an abbreviation for OPERA ROTAS.
Two other small scenes, the Adoration of the Magi
and the washing of the Infant by the midwives, Mea
and Salome, are associated with the main scene, without being essential to its completeness. Thus the washing occupies an entirely separate space at the bottom
right-hand corner of the panel, but the Adoration,
which can only be depicted in its relation to the Virgin and Child, is subtly linked to the main composition, for the casket carried by the first of the Magi

clining wearily on a couch, her eyes distant, as if contemplating the almost intolerable honor that has been
done her. Her chin rests on her left hand, her face

turned away from the swaddled Infant in the manger. In the bottom left-hand corner sits St. Joseph,
lost in thought.

Outside this family group, the focus of the whole

scene, other events connected with the miraculous
Birth are depicted as separate vignettes. In the center, at the top of the panel, the seraph, attended by
angels of the heavenly host, raises his arm in salutation to the shepherds watching over their diminutive
flock. The boy shepherd Sator, sitting with legs dangling on a rock, stops his piping for an instant at the

seraph's greeting. Behind him is a youthful figure

named Arepo who gently leads the old shepherd
Tenetor up the steep slope of the hill. It will be observed that these names represent three of the words
in the famous Roman magic square, which, being not
readily intelligible as it stands, is sometimes given a
Christian interpretation :
A
P
A
T
E

SATOR
AREPO
R
TENET APATERNOSTERO
OPERA O
ROTAS
S
T
E
R
O

SKETCH map of the area of southeast Turkey showing

the location of Eski Gmf.

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SCHEMATIC PLAN of paintings in the apse (below) and in the conch of the apse (above). In the upper
register of the apse are busts of the Apostles and Evangelists, in the lower the Virgin praying, with
Church Fathers to right and left. The central figure in the conch is Christ Pantocrator enthroned, with

the symbols of the four Evangelists issuing from the sides of the throne. On the extreme right of Christ
is the Virgin, with the archangel Michael before her, and on the extreme left, St. John the Baptist and
(largely destroyed) the archangel Gabriel before him.

Monastery Church continued

overlaps the entrance to the cave in which the manger lies.

Above, in the lunette, the Presentation is a far

simpler composition, made especially effective by the

careful grouping of the figures. The architectural

In the paintings of the Greme region and in the

Peristrema Valley the paintings may be divided very
generally - it might even be thought arbitrarily - into

two main groups. The first belongs to the period

when the area was a buffer between the Byzantines

and the Arabs, the second to the time when the Arabs

with an expression of great tenderness, is the old

Simeon, while behind St. Joseph stands Anna the

had been expelled, after the campaigns of Nicephorus

Phocas in the latter half of the tenth century. The
earlier group is archaizing in style, and draws extensively from Early Christian sources ; the fact that some
of the material seems derived from Syrian and Egyptian models suggests that there was a large influx of
monks from these new territories of the Caliph to the

Prophetess. But while the artist is the same man who

painted the Nativity scene, his emphasis here is on
the spiritual aspect of the occasion commemorated,
and such action as takes place is implied rather than
represented.

group, to which Eski Gm patently belongs, represents the renaissance of Byzantine art after the end of
the iconoclastic period and the rise to power of the
Macedonian dynasty. The new metropolitan style is

background with its slender arches represents, as always in this scene, the Temple at Jerusalem. Grouped
in the center are the Virgin and Child with St. Joseph,
who carries two turtle doves. Facing the Christ Child,

relative security of central Cappadocia. The later

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BUSTS of SS. James and John (above) and of St. Thomas (below), from the apse.
TWO Church Fathers, SS. Jason and Athenogenes,
from the apse painting (before restoration).

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HEAD of Christ Pantocrator in the conch of the apse.

SCHEMATIC PLAN of paintings on north wall

of church. At bottom, the Annunciation, on the

sides of the arch; in the middle, group of scenes
representing the Nativity; at top, in the lunette,
the Presentation in the Temple.

Monastery Church continued

recognizable at Greme in the paintings of Karanlik
Kilise and Elmali Kilise, and again in the Peristrema
Valley, but there is no doubt that Eski Gm shows
a great degree of sophistication and lacks that horror
vacui so apparent at Greme.
Of external evidence for the date of Eski Gm

there is apparently none, and internal evidence is

anything but conclusive. There are, however, one or
two features which may be suggestive. As has been
noted, the paintings in the apse and the narthex are
apparently by the same hand. Moreover, this artist

introduces into his drapery a form of decoration

HEAD of St. John the Baptist, from the conch.

which is modeled on individual uncial letters of the

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COVER: Head of Archangel Gabriel

from Annunciation scene.

DETAIL of the Virgin, from the Nativity scene.

INFANT JESUS in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger, with an ox and an

ass looking over the side.

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SERAPH in the Nativity scene bringing the news

YOUNG SHEPHERD Sator, who sits on a rock

of the birth to the shepherds.

listening to the seraph.

VIRGIN and Child, the central figures of the Pres-

ST. JOSEPH in the Presentation scene, bringing

an offering of two turtle doves (Luke 2:24).

entation scene in the lunette.

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SIMEON the devout (Luke 2:25-35), from the

Presentation.

ANNA the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38), from the

Presentation.

Monastery Church continued

Armenian alphabet, occasionally accurate, sometimes
imitated or, quite simply, invented. This feature suggests for the paintings the period of Armenian migra-

tion from their eastern homeland toward Cilicia,

when their alphabet might have been familiar to if

not understood by the Greek-speaking population, that
is, at the turn of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
In style the Doctors of the Church lie somewhere

between those painted at St. Sophia-in-Ochrid, in

Yugoslavia (after 1056), and the mosaics of the

Palatine Chapel at Palermo, Sicily (ca. 1140), where

the St. Basil bears a striking similarity to his counterpart at Eski Gm. The Greek letter forms have a

late appearance for Cappadocia, but as there are no

securely dated examples in that area between those of

Karaba Kilise (1061) and Kari Kilise (1212) it

may well be thought that - for example - the N with

a double curve replacing the normal diagonal was

used before its first dated appearance at Kari Kilise.
For the paintings of the north wall there is little to
go on. The letter forms, for what they are worth, suggest the late eleventh century, while stylistically the

Nativity is somewhere between the mosaic versions of

Hosios Loukas (mid-eleventh century) and Daphne

(ca. 1100) in Greece. Cappadocian parallels are of

little use in this connection.

As an isolated phenomenon the Middle Byzantine

paintings at Eski Gm would be remarkable. If

further examples were to be found in the neighborhood,

they would mark the beginning of a new chapter in

the history of Byzantine art in Anatolia. There seems
reason for sober confidence that at Andaval and
other nearby centers the necessary evidence will not
long be lacking.
BORN in 1916, the author was educated at Stonyhurst College and at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated in
1939 with First Class Honors in Classics. At Peterhouse he

was also granted a Diploma in Classical Archaeology in

1948. From 1949 to 1951 Mr. Gough was Scholar and Fel-

low of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, became Lecturer in Classical Archaeology in the University of

Edinburgh (1951-1961), and since then has been Director

of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

Mr. David Winfield, a research fellow of Dumbarton

Oaks, acted as photographer and conservation expert,
while Mrs. Michael Gough and Mrs. Winfield were responsible for survey and recording. The work at Eski
Gmf was made possible by the generosity of the Russell Trust.

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