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Kariye Mosque (originally Chora Church) is a former Christian church, now converted to a mosque (for the second time) in Istanbul. It is mainly famous for its outstanding Late Byzantine mosaics and frescos.
The Chora Church was originally built in the early 4th century as part of a monastery complex outside the city walls of Constantinople. However, when Theodosius II built his formidable land walls in 413–414, the church became incorporated within the city's defences, but retained the name Chora.
The majority of the current building dates from 1077–1081. Early in the 12th century, the church suffered a partial collapse, perhaps due to an earthquake. The church was rebuilt again in the 14th century. However, it was only after the third phase of building, two centuries after, that the church as it stands today was completed. The powerful Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites endowed the church with many of its fine mosaics and frescoes. The mosaic-work is the finest example of the Palaeologian Renaissance.
Around fifty years after the fall of the city to the Ottomans, Hadım Ali Pasha, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Bayezid II, ordered the Chora Church to be converted into a mosque. Due to the prohibition against iconic images in Islam, the mosaics and frescoes were covered behind a layer of plaster. This and frequent earthquakes in the region have taken their toll on the artwork.
In 1945, the building was designated a museum by the Turkish government. In 1958, it was opened to the public as a museum, Kariye Müzesi. In 2019, the Turkish Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, ordered that it was to be reconverted to a mosque. In August 2020, its status changed to a mosque.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.