full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Veronica Kalas: The underground cities of the Byzantine Empire

Unscramble the Blue Letters


By the 11th century, the Byzantine Empire secured its eatresn frontier, bringing pacee and stability back to the region. But rather than abandoning their underground settlements, locals expanded them into the landscapes above. Building directly into the region’s rocky cefidfliss, stoneworkers skillfully carved dwellings with open courtyards and adorned their entrances with elegant facades. nuomerus churches were also carved from the rock, all designed in the standard architectural styles of the Byzantine epmrie during the 9th to the 11th centuries. This included simple structures with altars and apses as well as intricate dnseigs ftueianrg columns and domes. And on the inside, many showcased vibrant wall paintings depicting detailed Christian iconography. These paintings are still visblie tadoy, making Cappadocia one of the most significant repositories of Byzantine art in the world.

Open Cloze


By the 11th century, the Byzantine Empire secured its _______ frontier, bringing _____ and stability back to the region. But rather than abandoning their underground settlements, locals expanded them into the landscapes above. Building directly into the region’s rocky __________, stoneworkers skillfully carved dwellings with open courtyards and adorned their entrances with elegant facades. ________ churches were also carved from the rock, all designed in the standard architectural styles of the Byzantine ______ during the 9th to the 11th centuries. This included simple structures with altars and apses as well as intricate _______ _________ columns and domes. And on the inside, many showcased vibrant wall paintings depicting detailed Christian iconography. These paintings are still _______ _____, making Cappadocia one of the most significant repositories of Byzantine art in the world.

Solution


  1. designs
  2. numerous
  3. peace
  4. cliffsides
  5. empire
  6. eastern
  7. visible
  8. today
  9. featuring

Original Text


By the 11th century, the Byzantine Empire secured its eastern frontier, bringing peace and stability back to the region. But rather than abandoning their underground settlements, locals expanded them into the landscapes above. Building directly into the region’s rocky cliffsides, stoneworkers skillfully carved dwellings with open courtyards and adorned their entrances with elegant facades. Numerous churches were also carved from the rock, all designed in the standard architectural styles of the Byzantine Empire during the 9th to the 11th centuries. This included simple structures with altars and apses as well as intricate designs featuring columns and domes. And on the inside, many showcased vibrant wall paintings depicting detailed Christian iconography. These paintings are still visible today, making Cappadocia one of the most significant repositories of Byzantine art in the world.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
byzantine empire 3
wall paintings 2


Important Words


  1. abandoning
  2. adorned
  3. altars
  4. apses
  5. architectural
  6. art
  7. bringing
  8. building
  9. byzantine
  10. cappadocia
  11. carved
  12. centuries
  13. century
  14. christian
  15. churches
  16. cliffsides
  17. columns
  18. courtyards
  19. depicting
  20. designed
  21. designs
  22. detailed
  23. domes
  24. dwellings
  25. eastern
  26. elegant
  27. empire
  28. entrances
  29. expanded
  30. facades
  31. featuring
  32. frontier
  33. iconography
  34. included
  35. intricate
  36. landscapes
  37. locals
  38. making
  39. numerous
  40. open
  41. paintings
  42. peace
  43. region
  44. repositories
  45. rock
  46. rocky
  47. secured
  48. settlements
  49. showcased
  50. significant
  51. simple
  52. skillfully
  53. stability
  54. standard
  55. stoneworkers
  56. structures
  57. styles
  58. today
  59. underground
  60. vibrant
  61. visible
  62. wall
  63. world