Direkli Church (Columned Church)

Past Belisirma, on the right bank of the river. The Columned Church takes its name from four free-standing columns carved out of the tufa to support the central dome — a small architectural feat in a single piece of rock.

Inside, the dome carries a Pantocrator surrounded by archangels, and the walls show standing saints in monastic dress. The space is unusually open for a cave church, with three apses and a wide central crossing.

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