Byzantine period architecture in Güzelyurt (Aksaray) Monastery Valley and hinterland

The subject of doctoral thesis is the Byzantine period architecture in the Monastery Valley and hinterland of Guzelyurt (Aksaray). In the study, the masonry churches located in Aksaray Province, Guzelyurt District center and its immediate vicinity, as well as the rock-carved churches found in the settlement were evaluated in terms of architecture and art history. The settlement of the region, which is the subject of the study, has continued uninterruptedly since prehistoric times, during the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Republican periods. The best evidence of this situation is the presence of masonry structures that can be dated to early periods in and around the settlement center, as well as the 19th Century. It is also the fact that it contains the built samples within its structure. The sheltered environment of the Güzelyurt settlement and the fact that the rock structure is suitable for rock-carved architecture have led to the construction of numerous structures related to everyday life and religious architecture. These structures located in the Güzelyurt Monastery Valley and hinterland have attracted the attention of many researchers, and twenty-eight (28) churches have been published in various magazines over time. Part of the studies carried out were carried out on the typologies and definitions of the churches plans. Other studies focused on the painting programs of major churches. From a general point of view, it seems that Güzelyurt has not been considered holistically and the studied churches constitute a part of the building stock located in the Güzelyurt Monastery Valley and hinterland. Other rock carved places and structures are almost never mentioned. Within the scope of the thesis, the importance of the settlement in Byzantine architecture has been tried to be revealed as a whole by considering the examples of religious architecture and civil architecture located in the Guzelyurt Monastery Valley and hinterland.