Bin Bir Kilise (1001 churches)

Department Archive
Collection Byzantine Research Fund
Reference No. BRF/02/02/02/001
Level Item
Place Bin Bir Kilise
Dates 1907-1909
Donor/Creator Bell, Dr Gertrude Margaret Lowthian
Scope and Content Church no 1: west façade. The photograph is annotated in pencil at the back.
Further information Kara Daph (the Black Mountain) is a series of volcanic rocks that dominates the plain of Konia (ancient Ikonium) in Central Anatolia. An early Byzantine city with numerous monasteries/churches (‘BinBirKilisse’ means 1001 churches), houses of clergy, cisterns and wine-presses in the broader area lies at the northern foot of the mountain. The settlement, which was probably deserted soon after the Arab invasion of Asia Minor (660AC), was re-inhabited about 850: the abandoned churches were rebuilt, the demolished houses reconstructed.

Turkish domination of the site began in 1072. The surviving churches date: a. before the Arab invasion (some of these monuments have partly been restored) b. after 850. New churches continued to be erected on the site as late as the 11th century.