Odalar Mosque
Encyclopedia
The Odalar Mosque was an Ottoman
mosque
in Istanbul
. The building was originally a Byzantine
-era Eastern Orthodox church of unknown dedication. In 1475, after the Fall of Constantinople
(1453), it became a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to Saint Mary of Constantinople
, until finally it was converted into a mosque by the Ottomans
in 1640. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1919, and since then has fallen into ruin. As of 2011, only some walls remain, hidden among modern buildings.
, in the district of Fatih
, in the neighborhood of Salmatomruk, not far from Edirne Kapı (the ancient Gate of Charisius), more or less halfway between the Chora Church
and the Fethiye Mosque. The few remains lie in a courtyard and can be accessed through modern blocks built on Müftu Sokaĝi 20-22.
was erected on the top of the sixth hill of Constantinople
, on a plateau which is limited by the open air Cistern
of Aetios
(now a football field
) and by the unidentified Byzantine edifice denominated in Ottoman times as Boĝdan Saray. The dedication of this building is uncertain, but it was probably part of a complex which included also today's Kasim Aĝa Mescidi and the İpek cistern, and was almost certainly the katholikon
of a monastery.
The edifice has been identified for a long time as the Theotokos
en te Petra, but without conclusive evidence.
During the Byzantine period, several monasteries lay in the area; the Monastery of Manuel
, that devoted to St. John in Petra, and the nunnery dedicated to the Theotokos
Kecharitomene ("full of grace" or "favoured (by God)"). The latter was founded at the beginning of the 12th century by Empress Eirene Doukaina, and is known above all because of its detailed and extant typikon
. The nearby church of the Theotokos tas Kellararias, used by the nuns of the Karithomene as a burial place, and that of Hagios Nikolaos, both mentioned in the typikon of the nunnery, are possible candidates for the identification. Moreover, the Odalar Mosque could also be identified with a nearby church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus
, which lay plesion tes Aetiou kinsternes (Greek
"near the cistern of Aetios": not to be confounded with the homonymous church
which lies near Hagia Sophia
) because of the discovery in the vicinity of a monogram
med capital
(unfortunately found not in situ). Between 1150 and 1175 a new church of the cross-in-square
plan was built above the old one (possibly destroyed by fire or menaced by a landslide).
, when sultan Mehmed II
conquered the Genoese
colony of Caffa, in Crimea
. About 40,000 Latin
, Greek
, Armenian and Jewish inhabitants who lived in Caffa ("Caffariotes" or, in Turkish
, Kefeli) were then deported to Istanbul and relocated to this quarter, which was named after them Kefe Mahalle
si. The Latins, mainly Genoese
, were authorized to use in their quarter as churches the building and, together with the Armenians, another edifice known later as Kefeli Mosque
, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
The edifice, dedicated then to Saint Mary of Constantinople , was officiated by the Dominicans
, which before the Ottoman conquest had also a monastery in the city on the Black Sea
. Here was brought from Caffa a large icon
of the Hodegetria
type, which now is kept in the Dominican monastery of SS. Peter and Paul in Galata
. Due to all that, at the beginning of the sixteenth century the church of Saint Mary had turned into the center of this quarter predominantly inhabited by Italians deported from Caffa in Crimea, but the building fell soon in disrepair. Under Sultan Murad IV
(r. 1623–1640) the decision was taken to exclude from the walled city the Christians who were not Ottoman subjects and to resettle them in Galata
and Pera
. As a consequence, and after riots between Christian and Muslims, the church was closed in 1636, and in 1640 it was transformed into a mosque by Sadrazam (Grand Vizier
) Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha
(d. 1644).
After the relocation of the married Janissaries in the quarter in 1782, the mosque got the appellation of Odalar (In Turkish
"Oda" means "room" but also "barrack of the Janissaries"). Previously these were lodged at the Eski Odalar ("Old Barracks") near Şehzade Mosque
, which were destroyed in the fire of 1782. The building decayed steadily (by the mid-19th century the dome had collapsed), and it was heavily damaged by the fire of Salmatomruk on 2 July 1919. When the quarter was rebuilt with modern criteria the edifice was not restored, and fell into ruin.
were still visible. The church was built on a basement composed of 24 vaulted rooms and a vaulted crypt
with an apse, which is supposed to have been a chapel containing relics. These rooms had at first a profane usage, later they were used as burial place and finally as a cistern.
The second church, erected at the end of the twelfth century, used also 16 small rooms of the abandoned first church's basement as substructure. The masonry
was made of stone and bricks, and was erected with the technique of the recessed brick, typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle period . In this technique, alternate courses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a mortar
's bed. Due to that, the thickness of the mortar layers is about three times greater than that of the bricks layers. In this building, three or four rows of bricks alternate with single rows of stones, and the bricks are arranged to form several patterns.
The second church was of the cross-in-square
type with an almost square naos about 10.5 m wide: it had four columns sustaining the dome through pendentives, three apse
s - the central one having a polygonal shape - and a narthex
embracing the edifice on the west and north sides. The dome was about 4.4. m wide, lay on a drum
and was adorned with frescoes. East of the naos lay a tripartite sanctuary composed of a bema flanked by a prothesis
and a diakonikon
. The floor of the new church was 3.3 m above that of the first church. The edifice can be described as a middle-sized Byzantine church, similar to the nearby Church of Christ Pantepoptes
.
From a relation of Pietro Demarchis, bishop of Santorini
, who visited Istanbul in 1622, we know that at that time the columns of the church had been taken away by the Turks and substituted with wooden pillars, and that the dome was covered with frescoes. Moreover, part of the building was already menacing ruin. Just after the conversion to mosque, to the building were added a mihrab
, a minbar
and a minaret
. After the fire of 1919, the building fell into ruin (the roof collapsed and the minaret crashed already in the 1820s), but luckily it was thoroughly studied and surveyed by the German Archaeologist Paul Schatzmann in 1934/1935.
According to the Greek scholar Alexandros G. Paspates, in the East part of the basement of the Mosque sprung a water source
dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, abandoned for a long time.
layers covered with frescoes on blue background were uncovered. A fresco
representing a Madonna
on Throne with angels was found in the crypt. In the basement rooms were found fragments of paintings having as subject funerary themes. In the inferior church were discovered two deesis
, a fresco representing the soldier Saint Mercurius
- of unparalleled technique among the known byzantine works of this age - and prophets. These paintings were executed either in the tenth or in the middle of the eleventh century, belonging so to the first church. The diakonikon of the second church was adorned with frescoes showing saints and episodes of the Life of the Virgin
. The best preserved frescoes (among them Saint Mercurius) were detached, restored and are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul
.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. The building was originally a Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
-era Eastern Orthodox church of unknown dedication. In 1475, after the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
(1453), it became a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to Saint Mary of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, until finally it was converted into a mosque by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1640. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1919, and since then has fallen into ruin. As of 2011, only some walls remain, hidden among modern buildings.
Location
The building lies in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, in the district of Fatih
Fatih
Fatih is a municipality and district in Istanbul, Turkey that encompasses most of the peninsula coinciding with historic Constantinople. In 2009, the district of Eminönü, formerly a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was merged into Fatih...
, in the neighborhood of Salmatomruk, not far from Edirne Kapı (the ancient Gate of Charisius), more or less halfway between the Chora Church
Chora Church
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of a Byzantine church. The church is situated in Istanbul, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood, which lies in the western part of the municipality of Fatih...
and the Fethiye Mosque. The few remains lie in a courtyard and can be accessed through modern blocks built on Müftu Sokaĝi 20-22.
Byzantine Age
Between the ninth and the tenth century a church with an underlying basement and a cryptCrypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
was erected on the top of the sixth hill of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, on a plateau which is limited by the open air Cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
of Aetios
Aetius (praetorian prefect)
Aetius was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, praefectus urbi of Constantinople and praetorian prefect of the East.- Life :Aetius was praefectus urbi of Constantinople...
(now a football field
Vefa Stadium
Vefa Stadı is a football stadium, home ground of Turkish Regional Amateur League teams Fatih Karagümrük, located in Karagümrük, Istanbul....
) and by the unidentified Byzantine edifice denominated in Ottoman times as Boĝdan Saray. The dedication of this building is uncertain, but it was probably part of a complex which included also today's Kasim Aĝa Mescidi and the İpek cistern, and was almost certainly the katholikon
Katholikon
A Katholikon or Catholicon is the major temple of a monastery, or diocese in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The name derives from the fact that it is the largest temple where all gather together to celebrate the major feast days of the liturgical year. At other times, the smaller temples or...
of a monastery.
The edifice has been identified for a long time as the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
en te Petra, but without conclusive evidence.
During the Byzantine period, several monasteries lay in the area; the Monastery of Manuel
Manuel the Armenian
Manuel the Armenian was a prominent Byzantine general of Armenian origin, active from ca. 810 until his death in 838. After reaching the highest military ranks, a palace conspiracy forced him to seek refuge in the Abbasid court in 829. He returned to Byzantine service the next year, receiving the...
, that devoted to St. John in Petra, and the nunnery dedicated to the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
Kecharitomene ("full of grace" or "favoured (by God)"). The latter was founded at the beginning of the 12th century by Empress Eirene Doukaina, and is known above all because of its detailed and extant typikon
Typikon
The Typikon, or Typicon; plural Typika is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the various Eastern Orthodox Christian church services and ceremonies, in the form of a perpetual calendar...
. The nearby church of the Theotokos tas Kellararias, used by the nuns of the Karithomene as a burial place, and that of Hagios Nikolaos, both mentioned in the typikon of the nunnery, are possible candidates for the identification. Moreover, the Odalar Mosque could also be identified with a nearby church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Saints Sergius and Bacchus , were third century Roman soldiers who are commemorated as martyrs by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches...
, which lay plesion tes Aetiou kinsternes (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
"near the cistern of Aetios": not to be confounded with the homonymous church
Little Hagia Sophia
Little Hagia Sophia , formerly the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus , is a former Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, later converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire....
which lies near Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
) because of the discovery in the vicinity of a monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
med capital
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
(unfortunately found not in situ). Between 1150 and 1175 a new church of the cross-in-square
Cross-in-square
The term cross-in-square or crossed-dome denotes the dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches. The first cross-in-square churches were probably built in the late 8th century, and the form has remained in use throughout the Orthodox world until the present day...
plan was built above the old one (possibly destroyed by fire or menaced by a landslide).
Ottoman Age
The documented history of the edifice begins in 1475, shortly after the Fall of ConstantinopleFall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
, when sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
conquered the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
colony of Caffa, in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. About 40,000 Latin
Latin Europe
Latin Europe is a loose term for the region of Europe with an especially strong Latin cultural heritage inherited from the Roman Empire.-Application:...
, Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Armenian and Jewish inhabitants who lived in Caffa ("Caffariotes" or, in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Kefeli) were then deported to Istanbul and relocated to this quarter, which was named after them Kefe Mahalle
Mahalle
Mahalle is an Arabic word, adopted into Turkish which is variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood." It is an official administrative unit in many Middle Eastern countries. In the Ottoman Empire the mahalle was the smallest administrative entity...
si. The Latins, mainly Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, were authorized to use in their quarter as churches the building and, together with the Armenians, another edifice known later as Kefeli Mosque
Kefeli Mosque
The Kefeli Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church, later jointly officiated by Roman Catholics and Armenians, and finally converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The Catholic Church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Its date of dedication as Eastern Orthodox church is unknown...
, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
The edifice, dedicated then to Saint Mary of Constantinople , was officiated by the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, which before the Ottoman conquest had also a monastery in the city on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. Here was brought from Caffa a large icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of the Hodegetria
Hodegetria
A Hodegetria — or Virgin Hodegetria — is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for mankind...
type, which now is kept in the Dominican monastery of SS. Peter and Paul in Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
. Due to all that, at the beginning of the sixteenth century the church of Saint Mary had turned into the center of this quarter predominantly inhabited by Italians deported from Caffa in Crimea, but the building fell soon in disrepair. Under Sultan Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...
(r. 1623–1640) the decision was taken to exclude from the walled city the Christians who were not Ottoman subjects and to resettle them in Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...
and Pera
Beyoglu
Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...
. As a consequence, and after riots between Christian and Muslims, the church was closed in 1636, and in 1640 it was transformed into a mosque by Sadrazam (Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
) Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha
Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha
Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha was a 17th century Ottoman military officer and statesman. He served as Kapudan Pasha and as Grand Vizier.- Early life :...
(d. 1644).
After the relocation of the married Janissaries in the quarter in 1782, the mosque got the appellation of Odalar (In Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
"Oda" means "room" but also "barrack of the Janissaries"). Previously these were lodged at the Eski Odalar ("Old Barracks") near Şehzade Mosque
Sehzade Mosque
The Şehzade Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is sometimes referred to as the “Prince's Mosque” in English.-History:...
, which were destroyed in the fire of 1782. The building decayed steadily (by the mid-19th century the dome had collapsed), and it was heavily damaged by the fire of Salmatomruk on 2 July 1919. When the quarter was rebuilt with modern criteria the edifice was not restored, and fell into ruin.
Architecture
As mentioned above, several constructive phases can be recognized in the building during the Byzantine period. The first church, erected in the middle Byzantine age, had an almost square plan (about 11.65 m x 10 m ) with three apses, and was oriented toward the East. In 1935, only the tripartite sanctuary and the BemaBema
The Bema means a raised platform...
were still visible. The church was built on a basement composed of 24 vaulted rooms and a vaulted crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
with an apse, which is supposed to have been a chapel containing relics. These rooms had at first a profane usage, later they were used as burial place and finally as a cistern.
The second church, erected at the end of the twelfth century, used also 16 small rooms of the abandoned first church's basement as substructure. The masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
was made of stone and bricks, and was erected with the technique of the recessed brick, typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle period . In this technique, alternate courses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
's bed. Due to that, the thickness of the mortar layers is about three times greater than that of the bricks layers. In this building, three or four rows of bricks alternate with single rows of stones, and the bricks are arranged to form several patterns.
The second church was of the cross-in-square
Cross-in-square
The term cross-in-square or crossed-dome denotes the dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches. The first cross-in-square churches were probably built in the late 8th century, and the form has remained in use throughout the Orthodox world until the present day...
type with an almost square naos about 10.5 m wide: it had four columns sustaining the dome through pendentives, three apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
s - the central one having a polygonal shape - and a narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
embracing the edifice on the west and north sides. The dome was about 4.4. m wide, lay on a drum
Tholobate
A tholobate or drum, in architecture, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism....
and was adorned with frescoes. East of the naos lay a tripartite sanctuary composed of a bema flanked by a prothesis
Prothesis (altar)
The Prothesis is the place in the sanctuary in which the Liturgy of Preparation takes place in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches....
and a diakonikon
Diaconicon
The Diaconicon is, in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, the name given to a chamber on the south side of the central apse of the church, where the vestments, books, etc, that are used in the Divine Services of the church are kept .The Diaconicon contains the thalassidion...
. The floor of the new church was 3.3 m above that of the first church. The edifice can be described as a middle-sized Byzantine church, similar to the nearby Church of Christ Pantepoptes
Eski Imaret Mosque
Eski Imaret Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The church has traditionally been identified with that belonging to the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes , meaning "Christ the all-seeing". It is the only documented 11th-century church in Istanbul which...
.
From a relation of Pietro Demarchis, bishop of Santorini
Santorini
Santorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
, who visited Istanbul in 1622, we know that at that time the columns of the church had been taken away by the Turks and substituted with wooden pillars, and that the dome was covered with frescoes. Moreover, part of the building was already menacing ruin. Just after the conversion to mosque, to the building were added a mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
, a minbar
Minbar
A minbar is a pulpit in the mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons or in the Hussainia where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation...
and a minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
. After the fire of 1919, the building fell into ruin (the roof collapsed and the minaret crashed already in the 1820s), but luckily it was thoroughly studied and surveyed by the German Archaeologist Paul Schatzmann in 1934/1935.
According to the Greek scholar Alexandros G. Paspates, in the East part of the basement of the Mosque sprung a water source
Holy water in Eastern Christianity
Among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern-Rite Catholic Christians, holy water is used frequently in rites of blessing and exorcism, and the water for baptism is always sanctified with a special blessing....
dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, abandoned for a long time.
Paintings
During the excavation of 1934/1935 up to four mortarMortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
layers covered with frescoes on blue background were uncovered. A fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
representing a Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
on Throne with angels was found in the crypt. In the basement rooms were found fragments of paintings having as subject funerary themes. In the inferior church were discovered two deesis
Deesis
In Byzantine art, and later Eastern Orthodox art generally, the Deësis or Deisis , is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a book, and flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, and sometimes other saints and angels...
, a fresco representing the soldier Saint Mercurius
Saint Mercurius
Great-martyr Mercurius was a Christian saint and martyr. Born Philopater in the city of Eskentos in Cappadocia, Eastern Asia Minor, his original name means "lover of the Father"...
- of unparalleled technique among the known byzantine works of this age - and prophets. These paintings were executed either in the tenth or in the middle of the eleventh century, belonging so to the first church. The diakonikon of the second church was adorned with frescoes showing saints and episodes of the Life of the Virgin
Life of the Virgin
The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the number of scenes shown varies greatly with the space...
. The best preserved frescoes (among them Saint Mercurius) were detached, restored and are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul
Istanbul Archaeology Museum
The Istanbul Archaeology Museums is a group of three archeological museums located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace.The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums....
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