The Sarica Church, located in the Kepez Valley, is the perfect example of how a monument can suffer from indifference and neglect, yet be dragged back from the brink of oblivion as a shining example of one person's dedication toward the preservation of national patrimony. Up until October 2002 when work began, this 6th- to 7th-century rock-cut basilica had been reduced to use as an organic factory warehouse for pigeon guano. Local farmers had even cut an aperture into the dome as a porthole for the pigeons. In all fairness, however, much of the deterioration in the condition of the church was due to water erosion. Today, visitors can enter through the (dry) front door -- which had to be dug out -- and marvel at the carved niches, arched vaults, and capitals decorated under the ochre artwork of the time.