Before I departed Istabul I wanted to hunt down as many Byzantine (or probably more accurately- pre Ottoman) sites as possible. I had already walked along the outer walls (see post: Walls of Constantinople) but there were several other sites I had researched and still needed to track down. Consequently, I found myself back on the T1 tram heading out towards the walls again headed for the Chora Church. If I had been more efficient I would have detoured to see the church earlier when I was walking along the walls because I had to retrace my path north along the wall of Constantinople a bit before turning towards the inner city to get to the church. In any event, at least I was learning my way around the district of Fatih!
When I got to the church, which like almost every church in the city had been turned into a mosque by the Ottomans, it was closed for afternoon prayer so I found a shaded bench to wait the 20 minutes until it was open for visitors again. The church, or some version of it has existed since the 4th century. The current manifestation dates to the 9th-10th century and has some of the best surviving Byzantine frescos and mosaics. The inner sanctuary of the church, where the Islamic prayers are held, has been whitewashed of any iconography, but the outer corridors and chambers remain intact. It’s pretty incredible and the mosaic work is almost indistinguishable from a painting. The church is off the beaten path a bit so there were not too many tourists there, which made it much more comfortable to linger and take in the amazing art (and history!).
Chora Church, now a mosque.
After leaving the church, I plotted the walk to my next destination, the Pammakaristos Church, an old monastery (and yes, now a mosque…). My route took me through neighborhoods off of the tourist track although I spotted occasional Italian or Spanish tourists who were clearly doing the same thing I was. The Pammakaristos Church, dating back to the 11th century, was a disappointment as it was closed with some major work going on in the courtyard. (I looked through the construction fence and I think I saw solar panels being installed, not sure). As I was standing there, an older man was exiting the mosque and let myself and another couple, who was also trying to figure out what was going on, enter but as the entrance led to the prayer area, the interior had been whitewashed of any paintings.
Always remember to look at the ceiling. In the case of Chora Church, the walls too. Paintings and mosaics, some in pretty decent shape, covered the walls in the outer corridors and chambers.
Next up: St. Mary of the Mongols, significant mainly because it is the only Eastern Orthodox Church never to have been converted to a mosque. It has remained a place of Christian worship since the 7th century when the first building was constructed on the site. It has had a tumultuous history with lots of destruction and renovation, but still remains a place of worship. It is nominally locked and theoretically you can ring the bell to gain entry (if you can find the bell, which I did not). It looks fairly worn from the outside and there were even less tourists in this area than the other two sites I had visited. As it was hot and I was getting tired I decided to start the nearly hour hike back to my lodging. I probably could have figured out how to jump on a nearby tram, but I was in an exploring mood and was curious what I would find as I meandered back through a new part of the town. Weirdly, as I climbed down a set of stairs leading down the hill I was on towards the water, at the bottom I found a lot of locals taking pictures on the steps. I could not figure it out and took a picture of the area to try and figure out later. It was a trendy area with small cafes and shops— mainly locals. I later read this had become a trendy area, but could not find a reason.
The Chora church mosaics were incredibly detailed and, from a distance, hard to tell from a painting.
Close up you can see all of the small tiles. Must have taken forever to do!
On a different day, I went to find Valens Aqueduct (see featured image at top of post). The aqueduct was built in the 4th century to supply water to Constantinople (and the many cisterns under the city all over the place). The Byzantines and Ottomans also used it for the same purpose. It was originally hundreds of miles long and a 900m(ish) section still exists in the old city. The walk took about 45 minutes and wove through residential parts of the old city adjacent to the University. Eventually I popped out on Attaturk Blvd, which passes under some of the arches and looked for a good place to get a picture. (I did not walk the whole thing….).
Church of St. Mary of the Mongols, Old and weary but it has endurance!
As I depart Istanbul, I leave with the following impressions:
– Istanbul is incredibly crowded (about 16M people) and sprawling. I would not want to be here in peak tourist season!
-Like Rome, Istanbul is very hilly so I was always walking up or down a hill.
-Like Rome, Istanbul has an incredible rich fabric of history and wherever I walked I felt surrounded by it.
-I pretty much covered, by foot, a good sample of the whole Fatih district.
-They really want to sell tourists carpets (Americans are a favorite customer) so if you come wanting to buy, come educated and prepared.
-I still don’t understand why so many men were kibitzing in small groups in coffee/tea shops/cafes all day, talking and smoking and not working.
-TONS of people smoke in Turkey.
-Food is amazing!