Byzantine Ruins Hidden in a Yalova Neighborhood

In the middle of a modern residential complex in Çiftlikköy, just east of Yalova, lie the remains of a sixth-century Byzantine site. The ruins include evidence of an ancient water system, a church, and several tombs. Today, the surrounding buildings make the site easy to overlook, yet these scattered remains offer a glimpse into the Christian presence that once shaped this area.
About three kilometers east of Yalova, this quiet archaeological site invites a different kind of exploration. Rather than standing prominently above the modern city, the Byzantine remains sit almost unnoticed among contemporary homes. To find them requires looking beyond the modern landscape and searching below the surface for the history that remains.

Walking area of the Byzantine ruins.

The earliest remains at this location date to the 6th century: a bathhouse; however, it is unclear whether the first structure included a chapel. This 13-meter-by-10-meter structure is connected to a water reservoir.^[1]https://www.yalovagazetesi.com/kara-kilise-tarihi-cazibe-noktasi-olabilir The site’s historic connection to aqueducts, baths, and water makes it unique: a water-related feature became a church. In many early church buildings, this would allow for a baptistery, yet the write-ups do not mention it.

The 8th-century church is an early Byzantine structure with a cross-shaped plan and beautiful, durable brick construction. The central dome’s construction wall is still visible, with the locations of the windows where they once sat. The north-south structure length is longer than the east-west one, which is rare for east-directed Byzantine buildings. The ancient building’s survival amazes the observer.

Ancient Pylia – modern Çiftlikköy

Stone inscriptions (steeles) have been found near this settlement, but not specifically from this church site. Yet, near the church, the ancient harbor sat, hosting those who came from Constantinople. During Byzantine times, this ancient city of Pylai (sometimes spelled Pylae) became a shoreline settlement and once hosted a harbor. The site became a summer resort for political figures from Constantinople.

Manuel I Komnenos settled Christian immigrants at Pylai in 1146 because of the Byzantine military campaign to protect Anatolia from Masud I, the Seljuk Sultan. The emperor moved the Christian population from ancient Philadelphia, which is modern-day Akşehir. The emperor settled them in Pylai to protect them while also rebuilding the settlement.

Archaeological Ruins of Pylai

Excavations at the Ankaralilar sitesi in Yalova revealed multiple ancient buildings and walls; this is based on a 1970 archaeological write-up. This site is 1.7 kilometers east of the present building, showing how large the ancient settlement once was. Pylia covered at least 2-3 kilometers of shoreline area.

The pier sat just north of the church and could have been within 50 meters of the church. One article by a historian says the pier sat next to the church, and we know part of the pier was west of the church, so the remains on Ruzgar Street possibly connect to the ancient pier buildings or port docks.^[2]https://studylibtr.com/doc/1756904/%C3%A7anakkale-onsekiz-mart-%C3%BCniversites, pg 35.

In the 1960s, no other buildings were nearby, and housing development began in the 1970s. In a 1960 photo, pillars, a possible lintel structure, and foundational square stones sit near the water. This level of the photo has recently been buried by the development and the extension of the shore over the ancient settlement.^[3]https://www.farkyalovada.com/haber/1965-yili-ciftlikkoy-karakilise-sahili-13594

Archaeologists say they found a pier west of the church ruins and a necropolis south of the church with a few skeletons. In light of this, the church may have functioned as a martyrium or pilgrimage church for visitors to the settlement. The necropolis suggests that many skeletons or graves were located in this area.

The former Greek cemetery

As I walked my way toward the church from the east, I came upon an empty lot that looked like a graveyard. The sight made me curious, since the stones looked haphazard and unkempt. The place looked abandoned and mismanaged, but in one corner were some newer graves.

Since the 17th century, Armenians have lived in this region and had a church near the Byzantine church. Census reports from the 1800s also mention Greeks here. So one of these groups likely used the site as a cemetery, but it is unclear which one. The partial stones could provide evidence of vandalism. The cemetery likely fell out of use when these populations moved out of the area.

This location provides no proof of a Byzantine cemetery. However, it still shows that a continuous Christian presence can be traced in the broader area for well over 1,500 years, even though the communities have changed dramatically today.

Searching Below the Surface

Visiting Kara Kilise reminded me that ancient places often reveal only a small part of their story on the surface. A few surviving walls, scattered stones, or an abandoned cemetery can point toward layers of history that are no longer immediately visible. To understand a place, we have to look beneath the surface and ask what happened here, who lived here, what they believed, and how their stories shaped the landscape. That idea is also at the heart of my book, Searching Below the Surface, which explores the deeper stories we can discover when we look beyond what is immediately visible and ask what lies beneath.