Museum in a 19th-century Greek church being prepared for opening in Türkiye — Anadolu Agency

In the İncesu district of Türkiye’s Kayseri province, a city museum is being prepared for opening in the 190-year-old Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Eustathius. The building, constructed in 1836, has been restored and is being adapted for visitors, Anadolu Agency reports.

Restoration of the church

The church is one of İncesu’s historic structures. It has preserved wall paintings, stone decorations and inscriptions in Karamanli Turkish, written using the Greek alphabet. Restoration work began in 2021 and was completed last year, Kayseri municipal authorities said.

During the work, the building’s original structure was preserved, along with frescoes, reliefs, carvings and other elements. According to Tayfun Talaslı, head of the municipality’s department of historic buildings and museums, the project relied on archival photographs, documents and oral testimony from people who lived in the area.

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City museum exhibition

Before the population exchange between Greece and Türkiye in 1923, the church was used for worship services. Later, the premises housed a military warehouse, an archive, a theater hall and a vocational school.

More than 80% of the museum exhibition has been completed. The first floor is planned to present İncesu’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including information on its history, architecture, notable residents, archaeology, gastronomy, agriculture and viticulture. Visitors will also see ceramics found at the nearby Örenşehir archaeological site.

The municipality expects to include the church in the broader Cappadocia tourism route. İncesu is located about 45–50 kilometers from Avanos, Ürgüp and Göreme.