The Kalenderhane Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul's Vefa neighborhood. The site began as a Roman bath, followed by a sixth-century hall church and a larger church possibly built in the seventh century. The present building is dated to the late Comnenian period, perhaps 1197 to 1204. The article names no architect. It has a domed Greek cross plan, deep barrel vaults and a dome with 16 ribs, in alternating brick and stone.
The Crusaders used it as a Roman Catholic church. After 1453, Mehmed II gave it to the Kalenderi dervishes, which gave it its name. In 1746, Hacı Beşir Ağa added a mihrab, minbar and mahfil, completing its conversion to a mosque.
A one-meter mosaic of the Presentation of Christ and a 13th-century Saint Francis fresco cycle are now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. A ten-year restoration began in the 1970s.
Comments