Yılanlı Kilise

Cappadocia


Many of the frescoes are damaged, but it's possible to make out the one outlining the punishments for sinners, especially the three-headed snake with a sinner in each mouth and the nipple-clamped women (ouch) who didn't breastfeed their young.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cappadocia attractions

1. Sümbüllü Kilise

0.08 MILES

Some frescoes remain, but this church is mostly noteworthy for its simple but elegant facade.

2. Karanlık Kale Kilisesi

0.12 MILES

This monastery structure includes a chapel with a dramatic carved, cross-patterned ceiling and pillared chambers with geometric red and white decoration…

3. Eğritaş Kilise

0.16 MILES

Hardly anyone bothers to go to the Eğritaş Kilise, which is a shame because although the frescoes covering its half-collapsed, barrel-vaulted chapel are…

4. Ağaçaltı Kilise

0.18 MILES

This cruciform-plan church is most famous for its incredibly well-preserved fresco ceiling depicting the Ascension.

5. Pürenli Seki Kilisesi

0.24 MILES

This double-nave church has a wealth of 10th- and 12th-century frescoes depicting stories from the Gospels. In 2019 it wasn't possible to access the…

6. Kokar Kilise

0.31 MILES

This church has some fabulous frescoes – the Nativity and the Crucifixion for starters – dating from the 9th and 11th centuries.

7. Kırk Dam Altı Kilise

0.41 MILES

Although badly graffitied, the frescoes are still gloriously vibrant, and above the entrance you can see St George on a white horse, slaying a three…

8. Bahattın'ın Samanlığı Kilise

1.06 MILES

Sitting on Belisırma village's cliff face, next door to the Direkli Kilise, this tiny church contains defaced but still vivid frescoes depicting scenes…