Historic Greek church in Türkiye to open as museum
14:31, 29/09/2026, TuesdayU: Update: 15:12, 29/09/2026, Tuesday
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The 190-year-old Saint Eustathios Greek Church, whose restoration was completed last year, is being considered for inclusion in the Cappadocia tourism destination due to its distinctive wall paintings in Incesu district of Kayseri, Turkiye on September 25, 2026. The three-nave, vaulted historic building underwent restoration using original materials and techniques, while its stonework, frescoes and Karamanli inscriptions, as well as reliefs and carvings, were preserved and conserved.A 190-year-old Greek Orthodox church in Kayseri's Incesu district is set to open to the public soon after restoration, converted into the Incesu City Museum. The St. Eustathios Church, built in 1836, will showcase the area's heritage and help draw visitors beyond Cappadocia's better-known sites.
A 190-year-old Greek Orthodox church in central Türkiye is being readied to welcome visitors, part of a drive to extend tourism beyond the familiar attractions of the Cappadocia region. The St. Eustathios Greek Church in Incesu, a district of Kayseri province roughly 45-50 kilometers (28-31 miles) from the Cappadocia destinations of Avanos, Urgup and Goreme, dates to 1836 and is being turned into the Incesu City Museum. The building, noted for its wall paintings, stonework and inscriptions in Karamanli — Turkish written with the Greek alphabet — ranks among Incesu's key historical structures.
Restoration preserved original fabric
Work to restore the church began in 2021 and wrapped up last year, according to the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality. The effort kept the building's original fabric intact while also conserving its frescoes, reliefs, carvings and other features. Tayfun Talasli, who heads the municipality's Historical Buildings and Museums Branch Directorate, told Anadolu that the church served as a place of worship until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Türkiye. It was later put to other uses, including a military warehouse, an archive, a theater hall and a vocational school, he said. Display and arrangement work at the museum is more than 80% complete, and officials plan to open it soon.
Museum to tell the city's story
Talasli said the restoration drew on archival photographs, documents and oral histories from people who had lived in the area. "We will create a museum on the ground floor, where we will tell about the city's tangible and intangible cultural heritage," he said. Visitors will be able to learn about Incesu's history, architecture, notable figures, archaeology, gastronomy, agriculture and grape production, and will also see artifacts including ceramics unearthed at the nearby Orensehir archaeological site, Talasli said.
Hoping to join Cappadocia's tourism circuit
The municipality hopes the church will be folded into the broader Cappadocia tourism destination, letting visitors pair the historic site with the region's established attractions. Cappadocia, known for its fairy chimneys, cave dwellings and rock-cut churches, draws millions of tourists each year to central Türkiye, and local officials see the restored church as a way to spread those benefits to Incesu and surrounding areas.