Gamirasu Cave Hotel, Turkey

The Open-air Museum is the main attraction of Goreme. This is an unusual place that is a major reason why tourists visit this settlement. The museum is an unusual, one-of-a-kind place with no analogs in other parts of the world. It looks like a group of rocks, but each of these rocks hides true treasures such as a chapel, monasteries, and churches. The Church of Saint Barbara is among the most visited landmarks. The fabulous church never ceases to impress its guests with frescos on the walls. If you take a closer look at these walls, you will notice the faces of saints and their images that were canonic in the past. Sienna was the main material that artists used to draw these images.

For an unprepared viewer, it may be hard to understand the meaning of these images. Well, it is almost impossible to understand them, to be honest. For example, let’s take an image of locusts. It is hard to guess that this insect symbolizes evil and such a bird as a rooster symbolizes the church. After a visit to this landmark, tourists, as a rule, head to the Elmali Kilise (Church with an Apple) that was built in the 19th century. The church got this name because of a fresco with Archangel Michael who is holding a red-colored circular object that is reminiscent of an apple. There is another theory explaining the unusual name of this church. There are many apples nearby, and so they gave the shrine its name.
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