Altınkaya Kilisesi

The historical Greek church, which is owned by the Treasury of Finance, was taken under protection in the category of Religious and Cultural Structures by the decision of the District Council of Samsun Cultural and Natural Heritage on the date of 30 June 2000, in the category of Religious and Cultural Buildings, located in the roadside of Altınkaya District of Tekkeköy district.nnAbout the Church:nTekkeköy district is located on the roadside of the neighborhood of Asarağaç Village whose former name is 'Kelkaya' and its new name is 'Altınkaya', and it is located on a hill overlooking the Çarşamba Plain at the foot of the Asarağaç Hill. It is a single-storey church left by the Greeks who migrated in accordance with the Lausanne Exchange Agreement signed in Lausanne-Switzerland on January 30, 1923. The walls of the church are made of rubble. The apse (located at the back of the choir in churches, somewhere in the altar of the Mosques, in the form of a semi-circle or half-polygon, most of which is covered with vaults), the corners where the windows, doors and walls meet, and the upper edge are built of smooth cut stone. The upper part of the south facade, where the entrance door to the church is located, has a triangular shape. There is a small window above the door. There are two large small windows on the western facade. There is an arched door surrounded by three moldings on the east facade and two large small windows. On the north side, there are small windows in each side niche (in the cavity in the wall), and some stones are removed from the walls of the apse in the middle. The interior of the church consists of three naves (corridor-shaped sections separated by supports. The name in the mosques is sahin.). The middle nave is wider than the others. The middle nave is covered with three domes, and the side naves are covered with vaults (the top half of a hollow cylinder that is used for covering corridors, long thin spaces). The carrying principle of the vaults is similar to the dome. The difference is that the load is transferred to the right and to the left (on two walls) rather than to either side. The vault with a load on top will want to open and expand. This is usually resolved by placing a steel tensioner between the two walls. The middle dome fits on four columns with a cap, and the other two domes sit on the piers on the wall. The domes were destroyed in places. The apse of the Church, consisting of three knuckles, is outward.