Üçayak Byzantine Church
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Taburoğlu (nearest settlement), Kırşehir Province
Turkey| Üçayak Byzantine Church | |
|---|---|
Üçayak Kilisesi | |
 The ruins of the Üçayak Byzantine Church. The decorative niches on its exterior walls are visible. | |
 | |
| 39°24′46″N 34°10′15″E / 39.41278°N 34.17083°E | |
| Location | Cappadocia Taburoğlu (nearest settlement), Kırşehir Province |
| Country | Turkey |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | ruined |
| Heritage designation | Immovable Cultural Property of Turkey |
| Designated | 23 June 1994 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Byzantine |
| Years built | 10th–11th centuries |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 17 metres (55 ft 9 in) |
| Number of domes | 2 |
| Materials | Brick |
The ruins of the Üçayak Byzantine Church (Turkish: Üçayak Kilisesi; "Three-legged Church") are found in Kırşehir Province in Central Anatolia, Turkey. The church is unique in several respects. It is built on a remote location, without any evidence of any artefacts in the surrounding area, apparently in a completely isolated place, with no signs of human habitation.[1][2]
Its architectural design has been described as executed on an "exceptionally high artistic level". Other unusual features include a double or twin-church design,[1][2] its all-brick construction (with the exception of its foundations), and its sloping walls. It has been dated to around the late 10th to 11th centuries.[1] The style of the church is double-nave basilica.[3]
It is located in the southern part of Kırşehir Province, near the village of Taburoğlu, which is approximately six kilometres from the Yerköy-Yozgat highway.[3][4]
The church has been an Immovable Cultural Property of Turkey since 1994.[5]
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The Byzantine name of the location of the church is unknown. Proposed names include Justinianopolis, Pteria, and Mokissos. Taburoğlu, the closest settlement to the church was known as Tabira in antiquity. It is widely speculated to have been dedicated to Emperors Basil II (976–1025) and Constantine VIII (976–1028).[6] Near the church, there is a water spring, but the absence of any human artefacts in the vicinity indicates that the church was built on a completely isolated and uninhabited area.[1] One suggestion is that it commemorated the victory of Basil II over Bardas Phokas.[7][8]
The remnants of the decorations of the facades, its sloping walls, and its architectural style led to its chronology being placed to late 10th or 11th centuries AD.[1] On the Yerköy road in the north of Kırşehir, an inscription gave the name of St. Lukianos.[9] The first report on the church was in 1842 by W. F. Ainsworth. His travel notes on the church were used by John Winter Crowfoot who visited the ruins in 1900, and were eventually published by Josef Strzygowski in 1903. The 1938 Kırşehir earthquake caused the dome arches of the church to collapse.[1]
