The Remains of an Armenian Church in the Mountains of Adana

On a short road trip around the province of Adana we stopped in a county called Feke, which is about a two-hour drive from the city of Adana. Along the winding roads there are beautiful scenes of dazzling lakes, peaking mountains, and flourishing trees. This church is situated in the Sülemişli neighborhood and is easily accessible by car. There is a short pathway up to the remains of the structure from the small gravel area that serves well as a parking spot.

The church’s two side walls remain standing along with the foundation of the church. Some circular symbols on the walls and some pieces of rubble with cross symbols scatter the area, which makes for a fun scavenger hunt. The building is from the 5th and 6th centuries of the Byzantine period. Supposedly, there remains a monastery to be dug up around the church, and some Armenian sources claim the church to be the Vakha Monastery.

We arrived at the church in the middle of the day but it would be a great spot to explore around sunset. The towering remains of the walls play with the light of the sun and cast beautiful and mysterious shadows. The texture of the stone and stacking pattern of the walls is achieved by the cutting stone trap technique used to construct it.

At every turn as I roamed around the walls and climbed over the rubble I found a unique angle of the layering of walls and windows with openings that begged me to snap another picture. Every time I tried to walk back to the car I found myself trying to get the perfect angle to capture the majesty of the church.

Because only pieces remain, it takes a little imagination or the right angle to see the different parts of the church. On the side of the pathway it appears to be a normal square building. On the back side of the church it is rounded off, displaying the elegance of the design from this period.

From this church we could see the Feke Castle situated atop the mountain, looking out across the entire region. You can find this castle down the road from the church. These two spots are a great duo for a day trip to Feke.