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Pammakaristos Church
Fethiye Museum exterior from the south. Note that the complex also includes a mosque, called Fethiye Mosque, accessible through another entrance. For the part we see, the name "Fethiye Museum" is more appropriate.
One should note that there is another entrance to a part of the building that is used as a mosque and is called Fethiye Mosque, so for this part, Fethiye Museum is a more proper name.
Roughly to the left of the apsis, we see a side chapel.
Medieval Byzantine chant from the 14th century AD titled "Ευλογήσατε τον Κυρίον" (Bless the Lord) was composed by Maistor Ioannes Koukouzeles and performed by the Greek Byzantine Choir. The album is "Mathimata Maistoros Koukouzele." The photo depicts a 13th-century parekklesion (side chapel) at the Pammakaristos Church, the former Monastery of Theotokos Pammakaristos, located in Constantinople, now known as the Fethiye Mosque Museum in the Çarşamba neighborhood, Fatih district of Istanbul.
A view of the central dome, showing where some of the mosaics are situated.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fetiye Camii). Dome with 14th-century Byzantine mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator surrounded by figures of saints. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Pammakaristos Church (Fethiye Mosque). Dome with Byzantine mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fethiye Mosque). Dome with Byzantine mosaic depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot. Photo by: Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fetiye Camii). Ceiling with a 14th-century Byzantine mosaic depicting Saint Gregory of Armenia. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Saint Antony, the desert Father, the monk, was born around 251 in Koma, near al-Minyā, Heptanomis (Middle Egypt), and died on January 17, 356, at the Dayr Mārī Antonios hermitage near the Red Sea. His feast day is January 17. A disciple of Paul of Thebes, Antony began practicing an ascetic life at the age of 20 and, after 15 years, withdrew to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Dayr al-Maymūn) for absolute solitude, living there from about 286 to 305. During this retreat, he engaged in legendary combat against the devil, facing a series of temptations known in Christian theology and iconography. Around 305, he emerged to instruct and organize the monastic life of hermits who imitated him and settled nearby. After Christian persecution ended with the Edict of Milan in 313, he moved to a mountain in the Eastern Desert, between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the monastery Dayr Mārī Antonios still stands. He remained there, receiving visitors and occasionally crossing the desert to Pispir. He visited Alexandria twice, the last time around 350, to preach against Arianism, a heretical doctrine that claims Christ the Son is not of the same substance as God the Father.
Saint Antony, the desert Father and monk, was born around 251 in Koma, near al-Minyā, Heptanomis (Middle Egypt), and died on January 17, 356, at Dayr Mārī Antonios hermitage near the Red Sea. His feast day is January 17. As a disciple of Paul of Thebes, Antony began practicing an ascetic life at the age of 20. After 15 years, he withdrew to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Dayr al-Maymūn) for absolute solitude, where he lived from about 286 to 305. During this retreat, he engaged in legendary combat against the devil, resisting temptations that became famous in Christian theology and iconography. Around 305, he emerged to instruct and organize the monastic life of hermits who had settled nearby, imitating his way of life. After the Edict of Milan ended Christian persecution in 313, he moved to a mountain in the Eastern Desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the monastery Dayr Mārī Antonios still stands. He remained there, receiving visitors and occasionally crossing the desert to Pispir. He ventured to Alexandria twice, the last time around 350, to preach against Arianism, which taught that Christ the Son is not of the same substance as God the Father.
From left to right: prophets Sophonias, Mica, Jo'el, and Zacharias. Zephaniah, also spelled Sophonias, was an Israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter Old Testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. He was a contemporary of Josiah, king of Judah, with his activity likely occurring during the early part of Josiah’s reign. Mica, or Micah, was the sixth of the 12 Old Testament books named after the Minor Prophets. He was a Judaean prophet active during the last half of the 8th century BC. The Book of Micah is a compilation of materials, some of which date from considerably later periods. Jo'el, or Joel, is the second of the 12 Old Testament books of the Minor Prophets. His book reflects the liturgy used during the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The central theme of Joel's book is that salvation will come to Judah and Jerusalem when the people turn to Yahweh. Zacharias, or Zechariah, is the 11th of the 12 Old Testament books named after the Minor Prophets. Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC and shared the concern of the prophet Haggai that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Zechariah believed that the rebuilding of the Temple would precede the arrival of the eschatological age. His book contains eight night visions, including one with four apocalyptic horsemen, portraying the revival of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile.
Fethiye Museum exterior from the south. Note that the complex also includes a mosque, called Fethiye Mosque, accessible through another entrance. For the part we see, the name "Fethiye Museum" is more appropriate.
One should note that there is another entrance to a part of the building that is used as a mosque and is called Fethiye Mosque, so for this part, Fethiye Museum is a more proper name.
Roughly to the left of the apsis, we see a side chapel.
Medieval Byzantine chant from the 14th century AD titled "Ευλογήσατε τον Κυρίον" (Bless the Lord) was composed by Maistor Ioannes Koukouzeles and performed by the Greek Byzantine Choir. The album is "Mathimata Maistoros Koukouzele." The photo depicts a 13th-century parekklesion (side chapel) at the Pammakaristos Church, the former Monastery of Theotokos Pammakaristos, located in Constantinople, now known as the Fethiye Mosque Museum in the Çarşamba neighborhood, Fatih district of Istanbul.
A view of the central dome, showing where some of the mosaics are situated.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fetiye Camii). Dome with 14th-century Byzantine mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator surrounded by figures of saints. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Pammakaristos Church (Fethiye Mosque). Dome with Byzantine mosaic of Christ Pantocrator. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fethiye Mosque). Dome with Byzantine mosaic depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot. Photo by: Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Istanbul: Museum of the former Church of Pammakaristos (Fetiye Camii). Ceiling with a 14th-century Byzantine mosaic depicting Saint Gregory of Armenia. Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 26-5-2006.
Saint Antony, the desert Father, the monk, was born around 251 in Koma, near al-Minyā, Heptanomis (Middle Egypt), and died on January 17, 356, at the Dayr Mārī Antonios hermitage near the Red Sea. His feast day is January 17. A disciple of Paul of Thebes, Antony began practicing an ascetic life at the age of 20 and, after 15 years, withdrew to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Dayr al-Maymūn) for absolute solitude, living there from about 286 to 305. During this retreat, he engaged in legendary combat against the devil, facing a series of temptations known in Christian theology and iconography. Around 305, he emerged to instruct and organize the monastic life of hermits who imitated him and settled nearby. After Christian persecution ended with the Edict of Milan in 313, he moved to a mountain in the Eastern Desert, between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the monastery Dayr Mārī Antonios still stands. He remained there, receiving visitors and occasionally crossing the desert to Pispir. He visited Alexandria twice, the last time around 350, to preach against Arianism, a heretical doctrine that claims Christ the Son is not of the same substance as God the Father.
Saint Antony, the desert Father and monk, was born around 251 in Koma, near al-Minyā, Heptanomis (Middle Egypt), and died on January 17, 356, at Dayr Mārī Antonios hermitage near the Red Sea. His feast day is January 17. As a disciple of Paul of Thebes, Antony began practicing an ascetic life at the age of 20. After 15 years, he withdrew to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Dayr al-Maymūn) for absolute solitude, where he lived from about 286 to 305. During this retreat, he engaged in legendary combat against the devil, resisting temptations that became famous in Christian theology and iconography. Around 305, he emerged to instruct and organize the monastic life of hermits who had settled nearby, imitating his way of life. After the Edict of Milan ended Christian persecution in 313, he moved to a mountain in the Eastern Desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the monastery Dayr Mārī Antonios still stands. He remained there, receiving visitors and occasionally crossing the desert to Pispir. He ventured to Alexandria twice, the last time around 350, to preach against Arianism, which taught that Christ the Son is not of the same substance as God the Father.
From left to right: prophets Sophonias, Mica, Jo'el, and Zacharias. Zephaniah, also spelled Sophonias, was an Israelite prophet, said to be the author of one of the shorter Old Testament prophetical books, who proclaimed the approaching divine judgment. He was a contemporary of Josiah, king of Judah, with his activity likely occurring during the early part of Josiah’s reign. Mica, or Micah, was the sixth of the 12 Old Testament books named after the Minor Prophets. He was a Judaean prophet active during the last half of the 8th century BC. The Book of Micah is a compilation of materials, some of which date from considerably later periods. Jo'el, or Joel, is the second of the 12 Old Testament books of the Minor Prophets. His book reflects the liturgy used during the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The central theme of Joel's book is that salvation will come to Judah and Jerusalem when the people turn to Yahweh. Zacharias, or Zechariah, is the 11th of the 12 Old Testament books named after the Minor Prophets. Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC and shared the concern of the prophet Haggai that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Zechariah believed that the rebuilding of the Temple would precede the arrival of the eschatological age. His book contains eight night visions, including one with four apocalyptic horsemen, portraying the revival of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile.

Pammakaristos Church

Istanbul, Turkey

The Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos, meaning "All-Blessed Mother of God," stands as an impressive example of Byzantine architecture from the 11th and 12th centuries. This historic structure once served as a key religious site in Constantinople, reflecting the city's spiritual and cultural importance during the Byzantine era.

A New Addition: The Parekklesion and Mosaics

Around the year 1300, a parekklesion—an elegant side-chapel—was added to the church complex. This chapel became well known for its beautiful mosaics, showcasing intricate artistry and devotion. The mosaics are considered some of the best examples of late Byzantine art, featuring detailed religious imagery and vibrant colors.

Transformations Over the Centuries

In 1591, the main building of the church experienced a significant change. It was converted into a mosque after Sultan Murad III celebrated his conquest of Georgia and Azerbaijan, giving the building its new name: Fethiye Mosque. At this time, the interior of the main church was altered to suit Islamic worship, but the side-chapel remained untouched.

For many years, the parekklesion stood as a museum, allowing visitors to admire the preserved Byzantine mosaics. This unique coexistence of Christian and Islamic heritage made the site a notable landmark in Istanbul’s historical landscape.

Recent Changes

In 2020, a decision was made to designate the entire Pammakaristos building as a mosque once again. Following this change, every visible piece of Byzantine artwork was concealed. As a result, the renowned mosaics and other artistic features are no longer accessible to the public.

Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pammakaristos_Church
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