The two women with Phrygian caps (according to archaeologist Michael Gough) represent worshippers of Kybele, the Phrygian mother goddess. Together with the archangel on the opposite door jamb, who is standing upon a bull (symbol of the sun god Mithras or maybe of Zeus Dolichenus whose temple stood in the nearby Olba/Uzuncaburç), these scenes are then a symbolic representation of the triumph of Christianity over paganism.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Guides Bleus: Turquie’ – Edition 1986 & Personal visits (1985, 1992, 2001).