ALACAHISAR CHURCH IN KALE (DEMRE) DISTRICT OF THE ANTALYA PROVINCE LIGHT OF THE NEW FINDINGS

Abstract

The church, which is the paper?s topic is located at top of the hill called Alacahisar which is about 4 km. north of Karabel district. Cam Mountain, where the church is located is reached by a very corrupt road passing through the village Karabel at Lycia. The church has a trikonch bema and three aisle naos. The bema which was formed by forming the main rock is square in the middle and it was expanded with three apses from the north, the east and the south sides. Each apse was circled with a wall semicircle from inside and a flat one form outside and has twin windows in the middle of these walls. The architectural ruins imply that the central square was used to be covered with a dome with a pendant pass. The naos walls of the church are destroyed completely. Only the location of the middle and the south nave doors may be determined. It is understood from the ruins that there was a large courtyard at the west of the church. Here there is also a cistern that is used even today. There is a (probable) baptistery at the north of the church and a tomb at the south sides. During our survey some unpublished architectural ruins were identified as well as some stone works. Resulting in illegal excavations in the apse of the church has been documented for the first time a six-digit syntronon, it also is detected the real elevation level of the church. During the studies the plan of the building is reconstructed. The aim of the presentation is to make a detailed architectural description of the structure in the light of the new findings. It is also intended to determine the function and dating issues of the buildings as well as their importance within the architecture tradition of the region.