Historic Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey Set to Open as Museum

KAYSERI, TURKEY — A 190-year-old Greek Orthodox church in central Turkey is being prepared to welcome visitors after undergoing restoration and conversion into a city museum. St. Eustathios Greek Church in the Incesu district of Kayseri Province was built in 1836 and is located about 45–50 kilometers from several major Cappadocian tourist destinations.

The church was used for Orthodox worship until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. It was subsequently used for various purposes, including as a military warehouse, archive, theater, and vocational school. Restoration began in 2021 and was completed in 2025, with workers preserving the building’s original fabric, frescoes, stonework, carvings, reliefs, and inscriptions.

Among the church’s notable features are inscriptions in Karamanli, a form of Turkish written using the Greek alphabet. Restoration officials said archival photographs, historical documents, and oral accounts from former residents were consulted during the work.

The planned Incesu City Museum will occupy the ground floor and present the area’s tangible and intangible heritage, including its history, architecture, archaeology, agriculture, grape production, and gastronomy. Artifacts from the nearby Orensehir archaeological site will also be displayed.

Museum installation is now more than 80% complete, and local officials expect the site to open soon as part of efforts to connect Incesu’s historic attractions with the wider Cappadocia tourism region.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the Ecumenical Patriarch and Abp. Elpidophoros celebrated Divine Liturgy at the historic Cyzicus Monastery.