Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

TOP SIGHT KARIYE MUSEUM (CHORA CHURCH)

İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic-laden church. Nestled in the shadow of Theodosius II’s monumental land walls and now a museum overseen by the curators of Aya Sofya, it receives a fraction of the visitor numbers that its big sister attracts but offers an equally fascinating insight into Byzantine art.