Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
whipped by Roman soldiers before the Crucifixion. It was supposedly brought to Con-
stantinople by St Helen, mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine.
Note that the church is closed between 9.15am and 12.20pm for Sunday service when
the Patriarch is in residence (usually once per month).
CHURCH OF ST MARY OF THE MONGOLS
OFFLINE MAP
| CHURCH
(Church of Theotokos Panaghiotissa, Kanlı Kilise; Tevkii Cafer Mektebi Sokak, Fener; 9am-5pm Sat &
Sun; 33ES, 90, 44B, 36C, 399B&C from Eminönü, 55T from Taksim)
Consecrated in the 13th
century and saved from conversion into a mosque by the personal decree of Mehmet the
Conqueror, this is the only church in İstanbul to remain in Greek hands ever since Byzan-
tine times. It was named after Princess Maria Paleologina, an illegitimate daughter of Em-
peror Michael VIII Paleologos.
Maria was sent from Byzantium to marry Hulagu, the Great Khan of the Mongols, in
1265. By the time she arrived in his kingdom he had died (we guess it was a very long
trip), so she was forced to marry his son Abagu instead. On Abagu's death she returned to
Byzantium and retired to a convent attached to this church.
The church is usually open on weekends. If the doors aren't open, ring the bell on the
outside gate to attract the attention of the caretaker.
FATİH MOSQUE
(Fatih Camii, Mosque of the Conqueror; Fevzi Paşa Caddesi, Fatih; 31E, 32, 336E, 36KE, 38E from
Eminönü, 87 from Taksim)
The Fatih was the first great imperial mosque built in İstanbul fol-
lowing the Conquest. Mehmet the Conqueror chose to locate it on the hilltop site of the
ruined Church of the Apostles, burial place of Constantine and other Byzantine emperors.
Mehmet decided to be buried here as well - his tomb is behind the mosque and is inevit-
ably filled with worshippers.
| MOSQUE
The original
külliye
(mosque complex), finished in 1470, was enormous. Set in extens-
ive grounds, it included 15 charitable establishments such as
medreses
(Islamic schools of
higher studies), a hospice for travellers and a caravanserai. Many of these still stand - the
most interesting is the multidomed
tabhane
(dervish inn) to the southeast of the mosque.
Its columns are said to have been originally used in the Church of the Apostles.
Unfortunately the mosque you see today is not the one Mehmet built. The original
stood for nearly 300 years before toppling in an earthquake in 1766. The current mosque
was constructed between 1767 and 1771.
