Chora Museum (Kariye Muzesi), Istanbul, Turkey

Chora museum ceiling

The Chora Museum, or Kariye Muzesi, is a former church in Istanbul that is one of the loveliest remaining examples of Byzantine art and architecture.

Chora museum exterior

Kariye means "countryside" in Turkish.  When the church was originally built in the fifth century, it lay just outside of the Istanbul - or Constantinople, as it was called then - city walls.  And like so many other buildings, it began small and was altered several times over the centuries.  One of the latest was financed by Theodore Metochites, a well-off scholar and statesman.  It was under his supervision that much of the church was built, and the majority of the mosaics and frescoes were designed.  Many Biblical stories were told in the artwork, with much of it focussed on the New Testament and the life of Jesus.

Dome portrays Virgin Mary and Jesus

Sometime between 1495 and 1511, the church was converted to a mosque.  And in keeping with the Muslim tradition of banning images in places of worship, the artwork was covered with plaster and paint and, in other places, hidden behind doors.

Jesus saving Adam and Eve

In the mid-twentieth century, the building was converted into a museum and restoration work began to reveal the artwork.  Today, travellers to Turkey can visit this amazing building and its artwork, that survived several incarnations as a church, a conversion to a mosque, and a restoration to a museum.

"Koimesis"

(Thanks to the Chora Museum website for much of this information.)