The Ağaçaltı church stands in the Ihlara valley in Cappadocia, within the province of Aksaray. It is cut into the rock, and is an old church holding scenes from the Gospels.
The original entrance lies below ground. The present entrance is through the apse of the gallery taken as the second level, and immediately opposite it is the figure of Saint Daniel shown with a lion, by whose name the church is also known. Many of the paintings inside have been worn away, though Christian images still survive.
Lower down the valley is the Pürenli Seki church, which is said to be entered and left with the help of trees because it has no proper door.
Getting there
From the ticket office, go down the steps and turn right about half way down; the church is some ten metres along on the right.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Aksaray as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 0.6 °C in January to 23.6 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in December (46 mm) and lightest in August (6 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
