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The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora (Kariye Camii), a Byzantine Jewel in Istanbul

By Anita Mathias

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Chora Church, exterior, back view.

As Roy engages in the daunting task of sorting out our photographs, I asked him to share a few on my blog.

Here are a few of The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, a Byzantine Jewel, which Simon Jenkins of the Ship of Fools had suggested we see. I loved it.

Now over to Roy:

Chora Church is a small church some distance from the historic center of Istanbul, but the mosaics, regarded as the most beautiful surviving Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul,  were definitely one of the highlights of our visit. Being out of the way, it is usually not  very crowded, and being small allows a much closer view of the mosaics.  It was first a church, then a mosque, and now a museum.  I have divided the images into sections: exterior, major mosaics of Christ and the Virgin, smaller mosaics of the life of Christ, and the frescoes of the Parekklesion.  The last two are the most unusual, at least to the non-Byzantine viewer.

Exterior of the Church

Chora Church, exterior, back view.

Chora Church, exterior, back view.

Interior–main images of Christ and the Virgin This picture shows the relative small size of the main part of the church, the ceiling mosiacs, and a tour group.  Additional closeups follow. DSCN3346

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Dome with mosaic of Christ Pantocrator (surrounded by apostles and prophets?)

 

Christ Pantocrator(Chora Church, istanbul)

Christ Pantocrator(Chora Church, istanbul)

 

Christ Pantocrator--mosaic on end wall, Chora church, Istanbul)

Christ Pantocrator–mosaic on end wall, Chora church, Istanbul)

There is a dome with similar to the one with Christ at the center, but instead with the virgin and child.

Virgin with the young Christ, central image in a dome, Chora Church, Istanbul.

Virgin with the young Christ, central image in a dome, Chora Church, Istanbul.

Christ and the Virgin, wall mosaic, Chora Church, istanbul.

Christ and the Virgin, wall mosaic/fresco, Chora Church, Istanbul.

The dormition of the Virgin, Chora Church, Istanbul.

The dormition of the Virgin, Chora Church, Istanbul. (The child Christ is holding represents May’s soul.)

Smaller mosiacs

There are numerous smaller mosaics illustrating the life of Christ and saints.  This mosaic is on a dome and the arches next to it.

Mosaic on interior of a dome, Chora Church, Istanbul.

Mosaic on interior of a dome, Chora Church, Istanbul.

 

The wedding at Cana, Chora Church, Istanbul.

The wedding at Cana, Chora Church, Istanbul.

P1010188 Please correct me if I have the wrong captions!

Feeding the 5000. (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

Feeding the 5000. (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

Twelve baskets gathered after the feeding of the 5000.

Twelve baskets gathered after the feeding of the 5000.

"If only I could touch the hem of his robe"

“If only I could touch the hem of his robe” (above), Healing the man with a paralysed arm (?), bottom right.

The annunciation

The annunciation

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Healing the two blind beggars (?)

Healing the two blind beggars (?)

DSCN3358-crop

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St Peter, (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

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St. Paul (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

 

P1010236 P1010228

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The flight into Egypt.

The flight into Egypt.

St. Joseph, on foot.  Flight into Egypt. (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

St. Joseph, on foot. Flight into Egypt. (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

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and many more, but I’ll move on now.

Parekklesion (Side chapel)

This side chapel was used for memorials and family burials, and was decorated with frescoes.

Christ raising Adam and Eve from their coffins.

Christ raising Adam and Eve from their coffins.

DSCN3386

The Last Judgement

Intriguing "snail shell" and beings from last Judgement.

Intriguing “snail shell” and beings from last Judgement.

Dome of the parekklesion (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

Dome of the parekklesion (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

Angel, Parekklesion (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

Angel, Parekklesion (Chora Church, Istanbul.)

 

Some other photos from Istanbul:

The Topkapi Palace

Views of Istanbul, Including the Little Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

The Blue Mosque

A Bosphorus Cruise

 

More from my site

  • Images of IstanbulImages of Istanbul
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Filed Under: In which I Travel and Dream Tagged With: Byzantine mosaics, Holy Saviour at Chora, Istanbul

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Comments

  1. LA says

    June 4, 2013 at 10:45 am

    Very timely considering what is happening there. Thank you for sharing these. Mosaics always impress the heck outta me…it would seem so hard to keep the bigger picture in mind while working one at a time with those tiny stone pieces.

    • Anita Mathias says

      June 6, 2013 at 9:44 pm

      I love mosaics too. The girls have made some, but I lack the patience (or desire) to!

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
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And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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