Mahkemeağacin Kültürel Jeositi

About Mahkemeağacin Kültürel Jeositi

Mahkemeağacin is an old village on the road to Çeltikçi, about 18 km from the centre of Kızılcahamam, whose surroundings Kızılcahamam Municipality presents as a cultural geosite. Within a radius of roughly 3 km around the village centre there are many man-made features cut into the soft volcanic tuff: caves, former dwellings and rock churches, known locally by names such as harabe, ören yeri and şapka tepe. According to the municipality, the caves were used as homes, for storage and for wine-making, and some of their designs still point to Christian use. It suggests the first inhabitants may have been early Christians hiding from Roman persecution, and notes that because the ground at the caves is slightly damp and loose, it was easy to carve into houses and churches. Inside the rock churches there are niches in which crosses were set. At Kadıpınarı, three caves about 5 m up overlook an artificial level terrace of some 8 to 10 decares; the municipality suggests the terrace may have been used for religious gatherings and preaching, at a time when there was no longer any need to hide. The landscape is part of the attraction. Some layers in the tuff stand out in red, caused in places by oxidation and in others by baking, and the colour contrast is strongest in wet weather. The tuff contains fragments of basalt, andesite, rhyolite, slag and pumice that make it more durable. The village also lies on a migration route for herons, which arrive each May and June to reuse the previous year's nests and stay until their young have fledged. No visiting arrangements are published, so ask locally for directions to the individual caves. The municipality lists the Abacı fairy chimneys, about 3 km to the south-east, among the other sites nearby.