Description of the attraction
The small village of Chavushin is located 6 km northeast of Goreme on the road to Avanos. The village of Chavushin, with a good hotel and several boarding houses, amazes with the remains of a large cave city. Near this settlement there are many buildings that nestle against the rocks and continue into them. The back wall, revealing a multi-level system of dwellings, remained from the rocky city after another collapse. The rock, eaten away like a piece of "cheese", can be seen from afar, so it is not difficult to find Chavushin. In this "cheese" people lived in the fifties of the twentieth century. Until 1953, this part of the city was inhabited by Turks living in caves. Christians were expelled from here after the great earthquake, and residents were forbidden to live in caves. Most likely, the collapse was also facilitated by the fact that the rock could not withstand the pile-up of new passages and rooms that were constantly being cut through it. Chandelier hooks on the ceilings testify to the recent presence of people in these caves, and house numbers on some caves are also preserved.
The small village of Chavushin is surrounded by amazingly beautiful rock-cut churches built in the 1st-10th centuries. Some of the churches are located in Gulluder and Kyzylchukur. Here is the largest and oldest church in the region - "Vaftizji Yahya". A country road leading to Avanos, built in honor of the Emperor Nikifor Phocas in the Byzantine period, leads to the Buyuk Guvercinlik church. The frescoes in the Church of St. John tell of the pilgrimage, as well as the campaign of Nicephorus Phocas through Cappadocia in 964-965. The rock complex itself is still sometimes used as a warehouse, although until recently it was inhabited by people. The rock in which the Church of Nicephorus Phocas is located, with the dovecotes, which gave it another name - the House of the Dove, is located in the direction of Pashabag.
At the highest point of Chavushin is the Church of St. John the Baptist, or as it is called Vaftizci Yahya. This church dates back to the 5th century and is one of the oldest churches in Cappadocia. Inside it is a chain of rooms in caves, semi-vertical passages between different levels, connected by corridors. On the frescoes, you can see scenes from the life of Jesus, Mary, and the apostles. Many frescoes are lost, but some fragments can still be seen. They belong to the 7-8 centuries. Here, if you look very closely, you can see a fresco depicting the sacrifice of Abraham. A metal staircase leads to the Church of St. John, which was assembled after the collapse of the ancient bridge.
In the labyrinth of the cave, "gnawing" a significant part of the cape of the rock, you can get behind the Church of St. John the Baptist. In it, the rooms are connected in three-dimensional intricate chains, no worse than in some underground city. Often the passage to the next room can be in the far corner of the cave in a semicircular depression. You can only see the passage when you find yourself directly in front of it. The tunnel is so chaotic that it can suddenly go into a staircase or a well, or lead to a many-meter cliff, or maybe directly into a cliff if the further road collapses, or into a cave. In the cave, all the entrances are bent several times, so they do not let light through at all, which means that you cannot leave it without a lantern. Lovers of labyrinths will get a lot of pleasure, and not under, but above the ground.
On the main street of the village of Chavushin, you can see a rock-cape, which is pitted through and through with the next clusters of caves. It's easier to get close to it from the northern side closest to Avanos. On the far, southern side, there is a tributary valley with unexpectedly high and steep sides occupied by the remains of the buildings of the old Chavushin. Many houses are partially destroyed. Interestingly, this destruction goes from top to bottom: first the roof, then the floors of residential, upper floors and thin walls. Last of all, the powerful masonry of the lower floor is destroyed, which usually looks like a vaulted semi-basement, parts of which are carved into the rock.
A large and deserted city is quite impressive, suddenly opening up to the gaze from the cliff opposite. In the upper part of the city, a trail begins, passing by the rocks and leading to Zelva, away from all roads and other signs of civilization. It stretches along the mountain, behind which the sun sets in the evening.
Residents of the village of Chavushin have already moved from the caves to new modern houses. The local population is hospitable and smiling, but few people know English, and even more so Russian outside the settlements of tourist centers. This fact in no way prevents tourists from exchanging greetings and smiles. If you are in the mood for long-term communication, then, most likely, you will find it among the same tourists who come to see these parts.
The local cemetery testifies to the extraordinary health of local residents who easily overcame the century-old milestone.
