Photos by Jack A. Waldron
Have I mentioned, that I love tour cycling more than just about anything else in the world?! Heading out of Karaman, I stopped to take the photo above to show my destinations for the day. My plan was to camp near Binbir Kilise (ancient Barata). As it turned out, I spent the night just outside the largest structure at the site, which turned out to be a Byzantine church within the village of Madensehri (37°26'24.2"N 33°09'50.8"E).
Unfortunately, along the way I decided I couldn't make it to the Roman Pool in the nearby mountains, because it was about 7 kilometers off my route, and I was running out of daylight. So, here is yet another destination I must return to in the future.
Pictured above and below, an interesting building that obviously was constructed out of some ancient stone blocks. I have no idea of the purpose of this building, but you can see in the photos above and below what appear to be troughs (one under my bike), so perhaps this structure was a winery, or for olive oil production?
When my memories of the open road are brought back to me by photos such as the one below, a feeling of glee rushes through my body, and in an instant I re-experience the ultimate high that life can offer. Pictured in the distance, the peak of Kizildag (Red Mountain), one of the numerous mountains surrounding the extinct volcano of Karadag.
Kizildag makes for a spectacular backdrop to the village of Madensehri (City of Mines), where ancient Barata is located. The ruins within the village are referred to as the 'Degle Ruins', and are recognized as belonging to the 'Lower City'. However, this designation becomes quite confusing for the traveler, because the information boards located at the 'Upper City' refer to that area as "Degle", when actually they are located in 'Uckuyu'. When I publish 'Part 2' of this series it will become clear, or more confusing?
Pictured above, a sketch of Madensehri and the surrounding mountains by French archeologist and traveller Léon de Laborde (1807-1869). To avoid persecution, early Christians built settlements in remote locations around Karadag between the 3rd-8th C CE. By that time, ancient Barata was already known to the Romans, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Hittites, as it was a crossroad for caravans, and I suspect the site of extensive mining for metals.
Though the slopes and land surrounding Karadag have been home to some of the earliest human settlements known such as Catalhoyuk (7500 BC), a mere 45 kilometers to the northwest, the population growth and increase in building projects around the mountain was mainly the result of early Christian migration to the area.
As I entered the village of Madensehri, I immediately began to see the enormous ancient structures rising out of the surrounding wheat fields. I was naturally drawn to the largest building I could see, which turned out to be 'Church 1' (pictured above behind some village structures).
Overgrown with bushes and trees, these shells of a glorious past turned out to be more spectacular than I had envisioned. Pictured above, 'Church 1' off in the distance, and below, the entrance to the same building.
On some maps of Hittite settlements, this site is marked as 'Kizildag', however on the peak of Karadag there is a stone inscription of Hittite hieroglyphs that identify the area as 'Barmeta' (pictured below), probably from which the name 'Barata' is derived.
This photo of the inscription is not my own, though I do hope to locate this inscription when I return to the mountain. The location of the inscription is identified as 'Mahalic Tepe', which is the site of an impressive Byzantine church, as well as a transmission tower, and a Doppler weather radar station.
Based on finds from around the village, and according to Greek sources, Madensehri is the site of ancient Barata, and was at the ancient crossroads connecting Iconium (modern Konya), Heracleia (modern Eregli), Tuwanuwa/Tyana (Hittite/Roman)(modern Kemerhisar), and Sidamaria (modern Ambar).
I parked my bike around the corner to the left of the stone fence pictured above, just in front of the largest remaining church (aka church 1) in Madensehri, which is where I would pitch camp for the night. However, before setting up camp I headed off to explore the antiquities of this 'Lower City', as the sun was beginning its descent, and the following day I had plans to explore the 'Upper City'.
Church 1 is believed to have been constructed during the 5C CE, and as you can see, this was/is a monumental structure. It's surprising, that this small quiet village in the middle of nowhere was once the seat of a bishopric or diocese, meaning the bishop governed the ecclesiastical district from this once prominent bustling metropolis.
Though it's difficult see in the photo above, remnants of the red, white and black colors of the frescos that once covered these church walls can still be seen, and perhaps were destroyed by fire. If you take a look at my post on Gumusler Monastery, you will see what these ancient frescos might have looked like.
Standing within the narthex (pictured above), on the surface of the arch in the photo above you can barely make out standing figures who are probably apostles or saints. It's all explained with vibrantly colored examples in my Gumusler Monastery post.
Pictured above, a view looking back at narthex and the arched entrance to the naos or nave, and to the right on the wall, some red color and fresco plaster can still be seen. On the surface of another arch (pictured below), some scratchings on a fragment of blackened fresco. Notice the wonderful stone work of the support column, as well as the choice of rock color.
I suspect that, the Arab Muslim invaders who took control of this area during the 9C CE did not just leave the twenty plus major buildings in this metropolis unused, but probably did not appreciate the iconography on display within these structure, and therefore destroyed those images, and perhaps entire structures in the process.
Surveyors have counted fourteen churches, and six chapels in the Binbir Kilise area. Of the remaining buildings at the site, they are not in the best condition, as most of the ancient city was quarried for its stone by succeeding inhabitants and incorporated into more modern structures.
Pictured above, another wonderful sketch of Madensehri by French archeologist and traveller Léon de Laborde (1807-1869). Many of the buildings in the sketch are now gone, and though I can't quite be sure, I think 'Church 1' can be seen in the distant background, center left at the foot of the mountain.
Barata may be viewed as the 'Ani of Anatolia'. Ancient Ani is described as the 'City of a Thousand Churches', which was/is situated at a major river crossing along the Silk Road (located at the modern boarder between Armenia and Turkey), and with such similar circumstances, how can they not appear as sister, or brotherly cities.
Both Ani and Barata were prominent in the early development of the Christian Church, and both grew into major trading and religious hubs as Christianity expanded. Pictured above, the apse of 'Church 1', and below, the apse dome, which would have been covered in brilliant religious frescos in its day.
It wouldn't be surprising to find stone blocks within these structures that were quarried from earlier buildings that dated from the Hellenistic to the late-Roman periods. There certainly appear to be non-uniform sized blocks within the build, and to many aspects of the structure, though there are some finishing blocks that are cut smooth with precise measurements.
During the Roman Imperial Period, Barata belonged to Lycaonian union, and was given permission to mint coins. There is proof of minting during the reigns of emperors Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Philip II. I have not read any articles that tell of the minting of coins by Barata outside of these periods.
Stepping through the apse window in order to view the whole of the structure from outside the apse, I could see (and can see) there is enough intact building that would warrant a full restoration of the structure.
To the right of the apse window in the photo above, a lone marble column supports the small arched window and wall as it leans towards collapse. Beyond this pillar of light, we can see the inner row of arches that support the roof over the ambulatory.
Ancient Barata (Madensehri) is so close to the bustling city of Karaman and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Catalhoyuk, I have no doubt that these treasures would make a brilliant day package tour combo for visiting tourists.
Peaking through the trees in the photo below, yet another broken or dismantled structure. I must have been in a big hurry to photograph as much of the wider area as possible, and I think that's the main reason I didn't get close-ups of this building/wall.
The wall of the structure pictured above looks original to me, as the smooth and square finished blocks are perfect, which indicates to me that this building was expensive, and probably designed for official use, probably by the authorities.
On the other hand, the building pictured above and below is constructed from a hodgepodge of blocks quarried from more ancient structures. Unfortunately, similar situations can be seen at nearly every ancient site around the Mediterranean, which is why Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy are so special.
Barata was designated as an ecclesiastical metropolis or diocese (an archdiocese) in 325 CE at the First Council of Nicaea, and was attended by Stephanus of Barata. This designation meant that the bishop who sat here was in charge of administering the whole of the ecclesiastical province, making Barata a very important center.
Pictured above and below, a very humble sarcophagus from the early Roman Christian period or Byzantine period. Less is more, meaning, a Christian cross relief disguised as a tomb door might avoid the wrath of persecution from Roman authorities, which is just a speculation on my part.
At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, patriarch Eugenio of Barata attended in abstentia, as he was signed in the acts by Onesiphorus, the metropolitan bishop of Iconium (Konya).
Continuing my exploration of this massive site, I followed the sign to the exedra. The Greek meaning of agora means 'a seat out of doors', as there were no closed doors to the civic space, unless of course there were some restrictive rules applied by the authorities.
Of course I had seen quite a number of exedras at the many ancient sites I had visited in the past, but for myself, this exedra would be a first of its kind, both in size and style, though the purpose was probably the same.
The small semicircular stone-backed benches that normally opened onto a stoa in earlier times, had under the emperor Nero taken on the purpose of large domed party spaces within his palace, while the monumental free-standing exedra pictured above was probably a meeting place with stepped circular seats occupying its apse, and most likely opened onto a large agora.
As you can see in the sketch above by French archeologist and traveller Léon de Laborde (1807-1869), the same building in the 19C CE faced an opposing structure at the opposite end of the agora. This was probably a portico that led to the open air public space within, which was used for discussions, meetings, perhaps sales, and more.
There are still some remnants of the portico structure opposite the exedra, and I am assuming that it was a portico. If you look closely in the photos above and below, you can see two pillars of standing stone, which are all that is left of the portico.
It's actually quite amazing that the exedra is still standing, because I've read from sources of the destruction of the ancient monuments over the past one hundred years.
I'm not sure of when to date this structure, but I am incline to say that it was erected sometime between the 5-7C CE.
In May-June 536 CE, Barata participated in the Council of Constantinople, the mission of which was to deal with discipline and dogma (known as an endemic synod), in particular, was to discuss the deposition of Patriarch Anthimus, as well as condemn three anti-Chalcedonians. All four were eventually declared heretics, and they were banned from living in Constantinople.
Such was the heavy business of the dogmatists, and right there in the middle of these heavy proceedings were representatives from the important ancient city of Barata. Pictured below, at the crest of the dome, the keystone no less, is the Christian mark, the star of Bethlehem.
Barata was also represented at the Council of Constantinople in 680-681 CE, which was to decide whether Jesus Christ had two energies and two wills, or not. In the end, monoenergism and monothelitism were condemned as heretical, and so Jesus Christ became both divine and human. It's interesting how humans make such decisions for the gods.
At the 692 Council of Constantinople, the list of heretical infractions grew longer. Resolutions included a ban on certain pre-Christian festivals and practices, such as Bota/Vota, Kalends (celebrating the first day of every month), and Brumalia (winter solstice festivities, in which predictions would be made for the new year, god forbid!).
Roman in origin, Bota were vows of well being to the state, and then to Emperors, and so on. Offerings would be presented to various deities, such as Jupiter, Juno, etc. To which god (or gods) ancient temples are dedicated to can often be identified by the votive statues excavated at the site, and the god they represent. It's akin to praying to a god for some benefit or good outcome.
Barata would also take part in the Council of 879-880 CE, which nearly takes us up to the end of the existence of Christian Barata, as it wouldn't be long before the Muslim Arab raids would begin, and the destruction of this major Christian center and its inhabitants would come to pass.
I found the inner construction of the walls very interesting, because only the outer facing surface of each stone block is flat finished, while the sides are squared, and the back is shaped like a spike, and then positioned in place into the masonry fill of the core.
Such beautiful days in an antiquity paradise, no other tourists around, farmers plowing around the ancient structures, often parking their tractors and livestock inside these stone block wonders, life as usual for them, but life on the edge for me.
Looking at these structures as they exist today, it's hard to picture, but I try to imagine a grid of streets leading to fountains, a theater (if one existed here?), a bouleuterion, a stadium, and so on, all covering this flat somewhat empty space.
It must be remembered, that this city was occupied by the Hellens, the Roman Republicans, and Imperial Romans, then it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire, and then the Byzantines. These early occupiers would have built such civic buildings, but they have yet to be found, and may be waiting beneath the modern village of Madensehri.
Looking at the sima or corona in the photo above, I would describe it as an Ionic style, as it appears to have a rolled scroll at its end. This sima or corona wraps around the facade, and continues to follow the inner curvature of the exedra.
As you walk around the village you will find endless treasures amongst the stone fences, and there's no telling when these fences were built, but their materials are ancient. Pictured here, if these large round cylinders are not sections of columns, then they are most likely rollers used to grind the grains of the fields into flour, or perhaps olive pits to extract their valuable oil.
Pictured below, a large sarcophagus lid has been used to replace stone boulders in a section of field wall. Left of the lid (in the left of the photo), we can see another sarcophagus lid in front of the wall, and another cylinder built into the wall behind it.
There was still so much more to see and photograph around the village, but as you can see in these photos, I was losing the light of the sun god. Pictured below, another angle of the sarcophagus lid shows an ancient Roman or Greek style temple pediment relief with acroterion at its corners.
The tall sarcophagus pictured below has a very rough relief of what appear to be grape vines and a pair of scissors, as well as an inscription in Greek. My guess is that this was a monks final resting place, as the scissors indicate tonsure, or the cutting of an oval bald spot on the top of the head.
These two cuties were following me as I snapped photos of the antiquities strewn around their village, so I asked then to stand in front of the sarcophagus for a photo, which also gives some perspective on its size.
Yes, another photo of the sarcophagus, but this one with Kizildag rising in the distance (pictured blow). Can you see how the sunset is affecting its color? It has shades of red beginning to show, which is probably why it's called 'Red Mountain'.
I was too late to catch the sun bringing out the finer aspects of the relief on the sarcophagus pictured below, but if you look very closely, you can see two opposing lions grasping a tall object set between them.
If I were to speculate the origin of this dual lion relief, I would say that the ancient Anatolian goddess Kybele may play a part, as her ancient reliefs and sculptures usually appear with two lions at her sides, with accompanying reliefs depicting two such animals (or griffins and sphinxes) grasping at the tree of life, which rose between them.
It has been recorded that there is one monumental tomb at the site (pictured below), but I think I can verify that there at least two, and perhaps three, but unfortunately only the podiums remain of the later mentioned, as their stone blocks have been re-purposed for other constructions. Pictured below, the last remaining monumental tomb in the village of Madensehri.
Aspiring to be as grand as the mausoleum of Halicarnassus, this noble tomb is more fitting of bishop or saint, humble in its size, yet elegant in its design. Most likely, this row of tombs, as I count three (two of which only bases remain), would have lined a/the major thoroughfare into and out of the city.
Taking a peek inside, there do not appear to be beds large enough to accommodate the laying out of whole bodies. It may be that, the shelf protruding from the inner walls was used to store urns of multiple deceased members of either a family, or a monastery, but this is in question, because cremation was banned by Christians in the 5C CE, though not officially until 768 CE. So, was this a pagan tomb, a cult that allowed cremation, or a Byzantine Christian tomb, a cult that frowned upon and eventually banned cremation?
Another speculation is that, heavy wood slats were laid atop the shelves and across the tomb to create a floor. The opening notched out of the shelf in the photo above would have provided ventilation beneath the floor.
Thus, bodies of the deceased could have been temporarily laid above on the first level, and then after a time, the corpse interred or laid to rest below the floor structure.
Pictured above, a side view of the last standing tomb in Madensehri, and to the right of it, the podium of a second tomb. Below, a photo from the backside of both tombs.
Pictured below, village buildings stand in the behind the ancient tombs. More valuable in recent and past times for their building materials, the quarried materials have not travelled far, and I predict that they will be reunited someday, and some of these ancient structures will stand again.
The missing stone blocks from this tomb (pictured below) are easily identifiable, and can be seen within the village buildings and fences.
As you walk around many old villages in Turkey (as well as in Italy and Greece), it's common to see ancient blocks that have been incorporated into newer structures marked and numbered by archeologists, with the objective of relocating such antiquities back to their structural origin.
Picture in the foreground of the photo below, a shield relief can be seen in the marble block. This block was most likely positioned within the pediment of one of the dismantled tomb structures, and perhaps the tomb it now lays behind.
Pictured below, the sun setting on the last standing tomb in Madensehri, a metaphor for the future of this structure perhaps? There are multiple thousands of ancient sites with the Turkish boards that need attention and fundings, but resources for these antiquities is not a top priority.
More work needs to be done to incentivize the locals to guard and protect these sites, such as forming village archeological committees tasked with locating and cataloging ancient structural members re-purposed or scattered around the area.
Budgets for such committees would amount to a pittance for the central government, yet valued as a pretty penny for many locals. In these sketches by French archeologist and traveller Léon de Laborde (1807-1869), we see many buildings that are non-existent today, including a massive fortification with walls and towers built of stone (right background in the sketch above).
Pictured above and below, my final encounters before setting up camp. I must have looked like a mad man to the locals, as I hiked around the village in my cycling gear snapping photos of fences and goats.
Similar in shape, the tortoise will spend the night in a ready made enclosure, while I have to labor every evening (and morning) building up and breaking down the shelter I too carry on my back. Though it was quite late, I set up camp, secured my bike and bags, and ate a hot meal before relaxing in my shell. I would set off for the upper city in morning.
*All photos and content property of Jack A. Waldron (photos may not be used without written permission)
**Please support my work and future postings through PATREON:
Or, make a Donation through PayPal:
