Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

Between 1948 and 1958, the church’s interior decoration was carefully restored under the auspices of the Byzantine Society of America. Plaster and whitewash that covered the mosaics and frescoes was removed and everything was cleaned. In 2013 a second major restoration commenced. This ongoing process is happening in stages, and involves closure of parts of the museum; first the nave and the two-storey annexes on the northern side of the building, followed by the inner narthex, and finally the outer narthex and parecclesion. As the parecclesion has the finest frescoes, it may not be worth visiting the church during the final stage. Despite signs clearly prohibiting the use of camera flashes in the museum, many visitors ignore this rule, endangering these wonderful mosaics and frescoes. Please don’t be one of them. Getting to the Museum The best way to get to this part of town is to catch the Haliç (Golden Horn) ferry from Eminönü to Ayvansaray and walk up the hill along Dervişzade Sokak, turn right into Eğrikapı Mumhane Caddesi and then almost immediately left into Şişhane Caddesi. From here you can follow the remnants of Theodosius II’s land walls, passing the Palace of Constantine Porphyrogenitus on your way. From Hoca Çakır Caddesi, veer left into Vaiz Sokak just before you reach the steep stairs leading up to the ramparts of the wall, then turn sharp left into Kariye Sokak and you’ll come to the museum. Buses including 28 from Eminönü and 87 from Taksim stop near the museum at the Edirnekapı stop on Fevzi Paşa Caddesi. From Sultanahmet, you can also catch the tram to Aksaray followed by the metro to Topkapı-Ulubatlı and finally the tram again to Edirnekapı.