This is a lovely area in which you will inevitably get lost. it used to be a zone of outlying summer palaces and monasteries. A couple of the palaces are still set into the walls. The remains of several others, particularly Blachernae and Bonos, rear up above the ground in unexpected ways. Inevitably, the palaces have churches associated with them. Most of the Byzantine churches around have gone or are disappearing fast.
However after the conquest, a strip of churches began to flourish along the Golden Horn. The Ecumenical Patriarchate was demoted to this area in the 16th century and after a few false starts came to rest at the current location in Fener. The Feneriot empire began – the zone of rich non-Turks who made an excellent living negotiating between the providers of foreign goods and services and the Ottomans who found it demeaning to use other languages. Other patriarchates set up Metochions in the area and the breakaway Bulgars established their exarchate here.
Kanlı Kilise, The Church of Theotokos Panaghiotissa, The Mouchliotissa, “St Mary of the Mongols”
Church of St Peter and St Mark/Atık Mustafa Paşa Camii/Kocamustafa Camii/Hasret-I Cabir
Patriarchal Church of St George/The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
St Demetrios Xyloportas, Balat
Vlach Saray/Church of the Panaghia Paramithias/Palace of the Wallachians
Toklu Ibrahim Dede Mescidisi/Church of St Thecla
The Ayazma of Blachernae/Panayia Blachernae Ayasmasi/Church of Meryem Ana at Blachernae
St Stephen Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Metochion of Jerusalem
The Metochion of Sinai
The Church of St Nicholas
Posted June 2, 2014 Posted by Adam in Uncategorized
This is an attempt to map and photograph every remaining Byzantine church in Istanbul, no matter how fragmentary. I also look at the amazing proliferation of Christian variety that has stemmed from the original Ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople. There are some inevitable inaccuracies here. Please let me know if you find some.
Here is the explanation and introduction (with references).
There are two ways of finding a particular church:
1. Find it in the index. Most churches appear under a number of different names.
2. Click the appropriate area on the list below (as indicated by the map).
Kocamustafapaşa, Yenikapı and Silivrikapı
Süleymaniye/Vezneciler/Aksaray
Posted December 2, 2013 Posted by Adam in Uncategorized
A rabbit runs a swimwear shop. A church has a Patriarch and a treasure chest of Greek Orthodox relics but no congregation. Everybody wants to open a gallery. The government has declared war on the middle-class. This is Istanbul in summer, 2013. A series of apparently unrelated scenarios gradually become linked by a web of business and political machinations. The riot police are not the winners.
Linked stories/novel: approx 200 pages
Read an excerpt from After the Penguins here.
Out now on Amazon Kindle