Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

DON’T MISS

A Khalke Jesus A The Genealogy of Christ A Mary and the Baby Jesus A Frescoes in the parecclesion

PRACTICALITIES

A Kariye Müzesi A MAP , A3 A % 0212-631 9241 A www.choramuseum.com A Kariye Camii Sokak 18, Edirnekapı A adult/child ₺ 30/free A h 9am-7pm mid-Apr–late Oct, to 5pm late Oct–mid-Apr, last entry 30min before closing A g 28 from Eminönü, 87 from Taksim, f Ayvansaray Origins of the Church The building was originally known as the Church of the Holy Saviour Outside the Walls (Chora literally means ‘country’ and Kariye is the Turkish version of the ancient Greek word Khora, which means the same thing), reflecting its original location outside the city walls built by Constantine the Great. Within a century, the church and the monastery complex in which it was located were engulfed by Byzantine urban sprawl and enclosed within a new set of walls built by Emperor Theodosius II. Around AD 500, Emperor Anastasius and his court moved from the Great Palace of Byzantium in Sultanahmet to the Palace of Blachernae, a new complex built close to the point where Theodosius’ land walls met the old sea walls on the Golden Horn. Its proximity to the Chora