## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Site Description: Historical, Geological, and General Climatic Features  
Cappadocia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, is listed under the name \"Goreme National Park and Rock Sites of Cappadocia\". This area is renowned for its unique geological, historical, and cultural significance, reflecting a rich interplay between natural and human-made elements. Early settlers took advantage of the soft tufa rock to create dwellings and settlements. Initially, they focused on the steep hills of the valleys, but as space became scarce, they began to hollow out the insides of the rock formations. This lifestyle, characterized by living in rock-cut dwellings, persisted for centuries due to the insulating properties of the rock, which kept the interiors warm in winter and cool in summer [30]. In the 4 th century AD, Cappadocia emerged as a significant religious center for hermits and monastic communities. This led to the creation of numerous rock-cut churches and monasteries. The Goreme Open Air Museum is a prime example of these settlements. The St. Simeon Church is situated within the unique \"fairy chimney\" geological formations of the Pasabag Valley in the Avanos district of Neveshir (38\({}^{\circ}\)40\({}^{\prime}\)37.5\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N 34\({}^{\circ}\)51\({}^{\prime}\)16.9\({}^{\prime\prime}\) E). The site features three pillar hermitages; these are vertical rock columns where hermit monks lived in seclusion. The central hermitage, named after [PERSON], highlights his importance and the influence of stylite monasticism in the region. The apse of the church in question features significant religious iconography typical of the late 9 th and early 10 th centuries in Cappadocia [31]. The monuments in Cappadocia are mainly made of dirty white to pink tuff rock [11; 12]. These tuff materials, resulting from intense volcanic activity, are widespread across Central Anatolia, particularly in the Cappadocia region which formed during the Miocene-Pliocene epochs (thick and extensive layer of volcano-sedimentary sequences) [9]. The Cappadocia tuff mainly consists of lapilli-sized (2-64 mm) phenocrysts and rock fragments embedded within a tuffaceous matrix. It contains minerals such as plagioclase, quartz, and biotite. The rock is characterized by a highly porosity, with an average of 38% [11; 12]. The Central Anatolia Region is predominantly influenced by continental semi-arid steppe and cold climate types. Summer is hot, with cool and dry nights, while the winter season is cold and rainy [32; 33]. The average temperature is 22 \({}^{\circ}\)C in summer and \(-1\)\({}^{\circ}\)C in winter with recurrent days of freezing values (56 frost days during the winter seasons 2014-2016) [33]; between 1995 and 2007, the average freezing-thawing cycle was 37 [10], and 68, 38, and 62 freezing-thawing cycles occurred, respectively, during 1990, 1991, and 1993 [11]. Biological Colonization Assessments and Mapping of Deterioration Patterns: In Situ Observations and Sampling Procedure  
In order to provide a quali-quantitative evaluation of the lichen vegetation coverage on the church, and their variation combining exposure and inclination, we selected five test areas (Figure 1). Exposure mainly followed the sub-cardinal axes but this number was reduced due to the characteristic geometry (Figure 1). For each test area, a measurement of the surface inclination was recorded by using a smartphone application with a digital compass-clinometer module. The observations were made on surfaces of 1 m\({}^{2}\), allowing for comparisons across different exposures. The coverage value of each lichen species, observed in the field, was visually observed using the Braun-Blanquet's scale of values employed in phytosciological studies (+ = sporadic species, 1 = 5%, 2 = 5-25%, 3 = 25-50%, 4 = 50-75%, 5 = \(>\) 75%) [34]. A total of 28 samples, referred to in the text as \"Ril\" (Relief), consisted of fragments of stone containing lichen structures.