The Church of Meryem Ana at Göreme, fragile custodian of an outstanding art treasure threatened by the disintegration of the rocks

The rupestrian landscape of Cappadocia offers an incredible vision of a unique, rich geological environment, eroded into forms creating evocative panoramas and fantastical architectural visions. A heritage made up of rocks, gorges, valleys, and promontories where the populations of the past dedicated themselves to creating rock-cut cavities to hold dwellings, religious spaces, shared places, and defence systems as well as storage areas or spaces intended for agricultural or farming purposes. However, this vast rock-cut heritage is undergoing a gradual process of deterioration as nature progressively erodes the stone. Sometimes this process has been accelerated by the presence of the voids created by these rock-cut settlements: for example, the collapse of part of a rock wall may expose entire sections of subterranean cities, the interior wall of a church can become its façade, the core of a peak may reveal doorways or apses. In this complex situation, visiting and gaining access to some of these architectural structures may prove difficult and, at times, even unsafe. This means that architectural research must focus on producing efficient documentation as well as creating the necessary premises for interventions leading to the conservation and eventual access to these rock-cut environments.