Monday, September 19, 2016

MONASTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS PAMMAKARISTOS ( FETHIYE MOSQUE)



The main part of this acient church is from 12 th of century, but the funerary chapel was constructed in the 14th of century by Maria Doukania,who was the Empress of the Despotate of Epirus. The monastery housed the tomb of her husband,Micheal Galabas,a former general and high court official.


The mosaic decorations, which date from 1320, and the marble revetments are certainly worth seeing.But most impressive of all are the busts of craggy,bearded monks clustered in the corners. The bust and the cornices are inscribed with a lengthy poem honoring the husband,choirs praying to the soul of the deceased Micheal.


After the Ottoman conquest in 1453,the church was first used as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Partiarchate before it was converted into Fethiye Mosque in 1590.In the early years of the Turkish Republic,the mosque was turned into a museum.

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