“Santa Claus Church” The church in Demre, which was built after the death of St. Nicholaos, believed to be "Santa Claus". It is believed that after the death of Santa Claus, his bones were taken to Bari by Italian sailors after he lay here for a while. The Church of St. Nicholas in Myra was first built in the 6th century upon the death of St. Nicholas. The present church was built mainly from the 8th century; A monastery was added in the second half of the 11th century. In 1863, the Russian Tsar II. Alexander bought the building and the surrounding area from the Ottoman Empire and started the restoration work, but later the Ottoman Empire took the area and the church back and gave the Russians only permission to do the restoration. Restoration efforts were made so badly that the original of the church was ruined, and the bell tower, which can still be seen today, was added in 1876. In 1963, the eastern and western parts of the church were unearthed. In 1968, the sarcophagus of St. Nicholas, which was destroyed in 1087, was unearthed. When the church or chapel, which was built when St. Nicholas died, was destroyed in the earthquake in 529, a more likely basilica type church was built. Peschlow estimates that two smaller spaces with equal apses on the south side of the large apse and most of the northern nave of the present building belong to this first structure. This church is VIII. It was destroyed by earthquakes or Arab raids in the 19th century, and then it was renewed again. In 1034, it was destroyed by the raids of the Arab navy from the sea. The church, which was in ruins for ten years, was built in 1042 by the Byzantine Emperor IX. It is understood from the inscription that it was repaired by Constantine Monomakhos and his wife Zoe. XII. In the 19th century, some additions were made to the building, and the church was repaired again. XIII. We understand that in Myra, which was captured by the Turks in the 19th century, he used the church freely for worship and some repairs were made in the church. In 1738, the chapel next to the great church was repaired. C. Texier, who traveled through Anatolia between 1833 and 1837, stopped by Myra and mentioned the church in his books. Ten years later, in March 1842, Lieutenant Spratt and Prof. Forbes also came to Myra, made a sketch of the church and saw that there was a monastery next to the church. During the Crimean War in 1853, the Russians took care of the church and bought land in the name of the Russian countess named Anna Golicia to establish a Russian colony here. However, when the Ottoman State realized the political aspect of the matter, it took back the lands taken by the Russians and only the church's repair requests were accepted. Thus, in 1862, a Frenchman named August Salzmann was commissioned to repair the Nicholaos Church. There are nearly two thousand churches dedicated to Santa Claus, the patron saint of many cities. His life story and extraordinary things have been included in many books, only the oldest one was written by Michael, one of the abbots of Stadion Monastery in Byzantion, in 750-800 years. IV. VIII. century to the south of the single-domed church here. In the 19th century, additions were made to the north side with a chapel similar to a cross. In addition, some parts of the outer narthex and inner narthex were added to the building in 1862-63. From a courtyard with two columns standing today, one or two steps leads down to the south nave, which was added in the Byzantine Period. There is an apse with three arched windows in the eastern part of this cross-shaped section. The original stylobate in front of the apse and the altar base in the middle are still visible. In between the apse niche, there are saint figures whose colors have disappeared and become obscure. The fresco in the tiny niche below them belongs to Santa Claus. Mosaic panels with different patterns can be seen on the floors of this section and the southeast chapel of the main church. There are frescoes of Jesus, Mary and John in the niche opposite the stairs in the west direction. From here the well-kept door leads us, It leads to the part where the sarcophagi were found, or rather to the long part of the cruciform chapel. The frescoes in the niches where the sarcophagi are located are decorated with frescoes containing various saints, even though they are not clearly visible today. The fresco of the Virgin Mary on the first niche and columns on the north wall are interesting examples. It is understood from the writings that the second niche column, in which the Santa Claus fresco was found, was placed upside down. It is accepted that the Roman Period sarcophagus decorated with akarthus leaves in the first niche is attached to Santa Claus. It is even said that the top of the sarcophagus is decorated with fish scale patterns, since Santa Claus is also the patron saint of sailors. On April 20, 1087, the pirates of Bari broke the sarcophagus to get the bones of Santa Claus, and took some bones to Bari. The sarcophagi in the second niche and the niche opposite it are plain. Apart from the sarcophagi in niches here, there are two more tombs. From here, a door leads to the church's courtyard, which is paved with large block slabs. In the courtyard, there are two emptied graves in a niche. The cross and anchor motif on the marble next to it must be made for Santa Claus. On the inscription in the tomb placed inside the wall on the left, there is the time 1118. From the courtyard, it is first passed to the outer narthex, and then to the inner narthex, which is formed into the main space (naos) with three doors. This place is decorated with frescoes depicting bishops in groups. The main space, which is passed through here, opens to the side naves with three arches. There are two naves south of the main space. Although it is said that there is the tomb of Santa Claus in the sarcophagus in the niche in the second nave, the male and female reliefs on it show that this is not the case. There is another tomb in the niche opposite the side nave. In the dome of the north nave, St. There are frescoes of Jesus and the 12 apostles. On the side, the side nave is being excavated. There are three rooms in the western part of the nave where this excavation was carried out. While there should have been a dome with a window and a pulley in the middle of the building, Salzmann covered the space during the repair he made and used a large cross vault made of cut stone with ribs. Myra, an important Lycian city on the Mediterranean coast, is a Lycian city dating back to the 5th century BC with its extensive ruins, tombs and Lycian inscriptions. It became a metropolis in the 2nd century AD, in the 4th and 5th century AD. It has become an important religious and administrative center in the centuries. You can visit the Santa Claus Church and then the Ancient City of Myra. st. A museum card is required to enter St. Nicholas church. In addition, the entrance fee to the church was determined as 70 TL. The church of St. Nicholas is closed until noon on the first day of religious holidays. On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… You can visit the Santa Claus Church and then the Ancient City of Myra. st. A museum card is required to enter St. Nicholas church. In addition, the entrance fee to the church was determined as 70 TL. The church of St. Nicholas is closed until noon on the first day of religious holidays. On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… You can visit the Santa Claus Church and then the Ancient City of Myra. st. A museum card is required to enter St. Nicholas church. In addition, the entrance fee to the church was determined as 70 TL. The church of St. Nicholas is closed until noon on the first day of religious holidays. On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… A museum card is required to enter St. Nicholas church. In addition, the entrance fee to the church was determined as 70 TL. The church of St. Nicholas is closed until noon on the first day of religious holidays. On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… A museum card is required to enter St. Nicholas church. In addition, the entrance fee to the church was determined as 70 TL. The church of St. Nicholas is closed until noon on the first day of religious holidays. On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… On other days, it can be visited at certain hours. It would be useful to take a look at the economical villa options on kiralikvillanizi.com.tr. In fact, your villa for rent can be an option as it is close. Therefore, before you set off, I recommend you to visit kiralikvillaniz.com.tr and find the most ideal villa for comparative prices. If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover… If you want to get information about new different routes in the Mediterranean region, you can check our travel blogs. Hope you discover…