St. Jean Church (St. John) in Gülşehir

Overview

St. Jean Church (St. John) at Gülşehir is a rock-cut church carved on two floors into a fairy chimney, in Cappadocia. An inscription in its apse dates it to 1212. Its upper church holds a full cycle of paintings, and on two of its walls a Last Judgment, a scene rarely painted in Cappadocia. In Turkish, it is the St. Jean Kilisesi.

Where the church stands

The church stands at the edge of the town of Gülşehir, once called Arapsun, in Nevşehir province. In the Byzantine period, this was a densely settled area, as the fairy chimneys and rooms cut into the tuff around it show. Two more rock-cut churches stand close by, although they have no paintings. Near Niğde, see Gümüşler Monastery. Do not confuse this church with the Basilica of St. John at Selçuk, near Ephesus.

Quick facts

• Good for: Byzantine painting, a short stop
• Best combined with: Hacı Bektaş Veli Lodge, the Cappadocia valleys

Inside St. Jean Church

The lower church

The lower floor is the older of the two. Besides a church, it holds wine cellars, water channels and graves. The church has a single apse and a cross-shaped plan, with barrel vaults over its arms, but its central dome has collapsed. Here, the decoration is simple. Painters drew stylized animals, geometric shapes and crosses straight onto the bare rock in red ochre. So the lower church gives you a sense of the simple early decoration before you see the full color upstairs.

The upper church and its paintings

Upstairs, the second church has a single apse under a barrel vault. Plant and geometric patterns fill the vaults of its niches and its front walls. Scenes from the life of Christ run around it in bands, painted in yellow and brown on a black ground. In the apse, you see the Deesis, the scene of intercession. Then, on the front, the Annunciation appears beneath painted birds, and saints look down from medallions in the vault.

On the south side of the vault, you see the Last Supper, the Betrayal and the Baptism, with the Death of the Virgin below. On the north side, by contrast, come the Descent from the Cross, the Women at the Empty Tomb and Christ's Descent into Hell.

The Last Judgment

The Last Judgment fills the west and south walls, and only a few churches in Cappadocia show it. It begins on the right with the Weighing of Souls. In the center, an angel holds a staff and the scales, while two more angels carry white cloths for the souls. Their haloes are light blue and orange, colors rarely seen in the region. Facing them, a naked, winged devil tries to pull down one pan of the scales with a hook. Then, on the left, the scenes of Hell, the punishment of sinners and the false prophets complete the wall.

Visiting St. Jean Church

How to visit St. Jean Church

The church opens every day, with longer hours from April to October. Entry needs a ticket, and the Museum Pass Cappadocia is valid here. That pass covers more than ten ministry museums and sites in Nevşehir and Aksaray provinces for three days, so it suits a longer stay in the region. The site also has a restroom. You can reach Gülşehir by local transport or by car, since tour vehicles of the region also stop here. We arrange your entry to St. Jean and drive on to the Hacı Bektaş Veli Lodge.

Before you go

Go up to the upper church first, because the paintings are the heart of the visit. On our day trip, for example, we stop at Gülşehir after lunch, on the way back from the Hacı Bektaş Veli Lodge. For more painted rock churches, the Göreme Open-Air Museum is the classic next step. Also, read our guide to Christian heritage sites in Turkey.

Updated: October 27, 2026.

Seeing St. Jean Church with Us

Would you like to see the Last Judgment at Gülşehir with a guide who reads every scene? Our Hacıbektaş and Gülşehir tour ends at St. Jean Church in the afternoon. The Last Judgment closes the day at Gülşehir; give us your date and we drive you from your hotel in Cappadocia.