NEVŞEHIR, TURKEY—Excavation of an ancient underground city in Turkey’s Cappadocia region has revealed a Christian church that could date to the fifth century A.D. “This place is even bigger than the other historical churches in Cappadocia. It was built underground and has original frescoes that have survived to this day,” the mayor of Nevşehir, Hasan Ünver, told Hürriyet Daily News. Archaeologists say that the church walls collapsed, but they will be slowly dried out and restored. “We have stopped work in order to protect the wall paintings and the church. When the weather gets warmer in the spring, we will wait for humidity to evaporate and then we will start removing the earth,” said archaeologist Ali Aydin. Some of the paintings uncovered so far are said to be unique. “There are exciting depictions like fish falling from the hand of Jesus Christ, him rising up into the sky, and the bad souls being killed. When the church is completely revealed, Cappadocia could become an even bigger pilgrimage center of Orthodoxy,” the mayor added. To read about Roman-era mosaics in Turkey, go to "Zeugma After the Flood."
