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Eski Imaret Mosque

Eski Imaret Mosque

Photo: A. Fabbretti · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Istanbul, Turkey
Client / Owner
Anna Dalassena
Year
Completed 1087
Access
Private
Typology
Spiritual

The Eski Imaret Mosque in Istanbul's Zeyrek neighborhood is a former Byzantine church in the Middle Byzantine style. Anna Dalassena, mother of Emperor Alexios I Comnenus, built a convent and church there some time before 1087. It is traditionally identified as the Church of Christ Pantepoptes, but that is disputed. The church has a cross-in-square plan, a central dome and a U-shaped gallery.

It is built of brick and stone in a recessed-brick technique. Its brick roof tiles are unusual among Istanbul's churches and mosques, and the exterior has sunburst, meander and basket-wave patterns.

Crusaders sacked the complex in 1204, and it served as a Catholic church until 1261. It became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of 1453, and a Koran school until 1970. A restoration began in 2015 and halted, and it was still under restoration in 2024.

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