The chapel of St Barbara is in the Göreme Open Air Museum, behind the rock block holding the Elmalı church, and is dated to the second half of the eleventh century. It is cross-planned with two columns; the west, north and south arms of the cross are barrel-vaulted, while the centre, the east arm and the two corner spaces on the east are domed, and there is one main apse with two side apses.
The painting here is of a particular kind: the motifs on the walls are drawn in red paint directly onto the rock, without plaster. On the walls and the dome are rich geometric motifs, mythological animals and military symbols, along with motifs imitating masonry. In the main apse is Christ Pantokrator; on the north arm St George and St Theodore on horseback fighting the dragon; and on the west arm St Barbara herself.
Getting there
- Access
- Thirteen kilometres from central Nevşehir; the town's own minibuses and the tour vehicles of local agencies reach it.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Nevşehir as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -0.1 °C in January to 21.4 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in May (58 mm) and lightest in August (8 mm). Long-term means for 1959-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
