Monastery Part 2

I'm back from Istanbul and will post something about that later. Right now I would like to post some photos of the monastery I visited last week. The nave of the church was very black - either due to candles or some sort of fire, but it was undergoing restoration. We were still able to go in and see it, and it was quite nice that there were no tourists who had trekked the six kilometers in the subfreezing temperatures to see it. The cold was not an issue, as the climb was strenuous and we had to do it both ways!

I especially like this one of Christ above the chandelier, which I had to work on to show the proper effect. It was quite macabre but spiritual at the same time.

It was rather interesting to see the restoration paints sitting there as in a proper art studio. As the church was quite beautiful, I'd be interested in going back to see it when the restoration is complete. The church is unique in that the outside of it is also painted. My favorite part of it was the wheel of life, seen below. Click on it to make it bigger and see the stages of life painted there. Nothing like getting eaten by a big fish with sharp teeth.

The monastery had once housed rebels fighting for independence from the Ottomans. It's a shame that landslides from the rocks above destroyed part of the monastery in 1991, but at least the church was spared.

I leave you with a few more photos, including one of the incredible view from the monastery.