habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

ROCK CARVED SPACES OF ORTAHISARCRHIMA-CINP projectFig. 2 Ortahisar rock-carved spaces.Fig. 3 River beds under the skirts of Ortahisar Castle.Fig. 4 Hidden crossing at the north hillside of the Atlık Valley.3. Ortahisar settlementOrtahisar is one the areas where typical examples of geologicalformations called “Fairy Chimney’s” can be seen in thevalley between Nevşehir-Ürgüp-Avanos.Today the settlement is situated on a plateau along the northsouthaxis at an altitude of 1200 as well as on the slopes. Theseslopes come to end forming the rivers Selim Bağ ve GaripBağ/Atlık 290meters below the hilltop. The entire culturalheritage of Ortahisar lie in this area.The existing settlement evolved throughout the history. Prior tothe Turkish period, on both banks of the Selim BAğ and GaripBağ (Atlık Deresi) rivers, rock carved spaces are established.At this stage, the current city center, the Ortahisar Square isnot part of the settlement. The early settlements of Ortahisar isnot established at the plateau at 1200 meters altitude but developedon the lower levels, along the banks and the bed levels ofthe river. This is partly due to the geographic, topographic andclimatic conditions of the region. At this stage, the settlementdisplays more of a religious character. Monasteries, churches,depots and dove cots are the main building types. This hillsidesettlement had limited connections with its neighborhood. It isbelieved there were two gateways-entrances into this settlement.The first is the road on the western side connecting to ahidden crossing on the northern slopes of the Atlık Valley. Thesecond one is the road starting from the current town squareconnecting to the Nevşehir-Ürgüp road.The Turkish Period began with the marching of Turcs into theAnatolia. Turkic Nomads settled in the region. The Turkishoccupation in Ortahisar developed in history. In the early periods,the Christian structure of the region continued. At thistime one can assume a symbiotic life between Muslim andChristian populations.However, it can be stipulated that Ortahisar evolved from amonastic settlement towards a housing settlement. The landusepattern of this stage is no different than the previous one.The settlement is still situated on the hillsides and river bed.It is understood that this characteristic seems to continue fora long period of time. Because the current Ortahisar townsquare is a cemetery (Figure 6) area at the beginning of the20th century, and that there are no buildings observed.Generally, the cemeteries are kept outside of the main set-Fig. 5 The main road connecting to Nevşehir Ürgüp road.volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 234 16/11/2012 15:03:47