Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Though no one knows for certain, it is thought that the frescos were painted by the
same masters who created the mosaics. Theirs is an extraordinary accomplishment, as the
paintings, with their sophisticated use of perspective and exquisitely portrayed facial ex-
pressions, are reminiscent of those painted by the Italian master Giotto, the painter who
more than any other ushered in the Italian Renaissance.
Marble
The nave and the narthexes feature very fine, multicoloured marblework. The marble door
in the north axis of the nave is an imitation of the bronze-and-wood doors of the 6th cen-
tury, and is one of the few surviving examples of its kind.
Restoration
Between 1947 and 1958 the church's interior decoration was carefully restored under the
auspices of the Byzantine Society of America. Plaster and whitewash covering the mosa-
ics and frescos was removed and the works were cleaned.
Despite signs clearly prohibiting the use of camera flashes in the museum, many visit-
ors wilfully ignore this rule, endangering these wonderful mosaics and frescos. Please
don't be one of them.
THE CHORA'S PATRON
Theodore Metochites was born in Constantinople in 1270 the son of a senior official in the court of Michael
VIII Palaiologos. In 1290, he was accepted into the court of Andronikos II and was appointed logothetes,
the official responsible for the treasury. This made him the highest Byzantine official after the emperor. In
1316 Metochites was appointed by the emperor as
ktetor
(donor) for the restoration of the Chora Monastery.
When the restoration of the monastery was completed in 1321 he was granted the title of grand logothetes.
Metochites lost his position as grand logothetes in 1328 when Emperor Andronikos II was dethroned, and
was banished from Constantinople. He was allowed to return in 1330 and chose to become a priest in the
monastery that he had so generously endowed. He died in 1332 and is buried in a grave niche in the parec-
clesion.
After visiting the museum, consider sampling the Ottoman dishes o n offer at the Asitane restaurant,
which is in the basement of the Kariye Oteli next door.
