Balkaya is cave central for this region of limestone north of Vize. It has been inhabited since there were people to need shelter and inevitably the more religious of the Byzantines determined that living under rocks was the life for them. There are the remains of settlements throughout the Balkaya region and some of the churches merit interest. Forget the usual arguments about dedications and which bits stem from which era – it’s enough that these still exist. For a while, they were used as livestock shelters. This practice seems to have been curtailed now.

1. Church 1, Balkaya Kayaya Oyma Kilise 1

2. Church 2, Balkaya Kayaya Oyma Kilise 2

3. Church 3, Balkaya Kült Alanı

4. Necropolis, Balkaya

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2 Responses to “Balkaya, Kırklareli”

1. Enormousfish | Soğucak, Hatim Ağanın Mağara Yerleşim Alanı, Kırklareli | Adam Kaya Heskith | Author and Writer | Enormousfish Says:
   July 5th, 2016 at 12:16 pm

   […] cliff on the left bristles with human-cut structures of the kind seen in the ancient settlement at Balkaya.  Most of these are basic housing and storage […]

2. Enormousfish | Rock-cut church on Çalışkan Farm / Çalışkan Çiftliği Kayaya Oyma Kilise | Adam Kaya Heskith | Author and Writer | Enormousfish Says:
   July 25th, 2016 at 4:26 pm

   […] do remain in large quantities are the kaya küpleri that characterise sites in this area such as Balkaya and Soğucak. These are like the Greek pithoi, large earthenware jars used for storage. The ones in […]

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