The Greek church at Konaklı, 33 kilometres from Niğde, is built of basalt on a basilica plan, with a narthex on the west and three aisles running lengthways inside. The central aisle is covered by a hipped roof and each side aisle by five small domes. The narthex rests on four columns with a pier at either end, with a fairly large arch at the centre and two smaller arches flanking it.
The front is the part that repays a look. Above the large arch, near the roof, a decorative pier carries a tree-of-life motif rising from a vase, and a thick moulding crowns the facade, climbing in steps from the sides. The lower windows are arched, and above the arches are blind arches and decorative piers. Three doors lead from the narthex into the main space, and inscriptions are set in the arch tympana above the main door and above the door immediately to its left, where the date 1844 can be read. On the east the apses project beyond the body of the church — a main apse with the side chambers, the diaconicon and the prothesis. Konaklı is reached by private car or by the local buses serving the town.
Getting there
- Access
- The church is in the town of Konaklı, thirty-three kilometres from the centre; come by car or on the Konaklı public transport.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Niğde as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -0.2 °C in January to 22.6 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in May (48 mm) and lightest in July (6 mm). Long-term means for 1935-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
