|
This unique church museum is known not only throughout Europe but also through the whole world. No wonder! After all, Kariye is a unique visual aid to the Bible made of... mosaics. To tell the truth, the museum is officially known as not Kariye, but the Church of St. Savior in Chora. Or Kariye Mosque, as it is called by the Muslims.
In principle, the monastery is no longer a church nor a mosque. Like many churches of Constantinople’s era, it is turned into a museum, where no divine services are held. It is very simple to get here - take a taxi to Vlaherna Palace (a very famous landmark of Istanbul) and a few dozen meters from it you will see Kariye. Near the museum there’s a decent cafe and a small art gallery with interesting works of contemporary Turkish artists. And, of course, a gift shop, you won’t do without it.
But the shop, gallery and cafe - they will be described later. First, you still need to go to the museum. He got its name because of the suburb where it is located. Or rather was located, until it was a suburb of Constantinople. Now it is a deep center of Istanbul... Sixteen centuries ago, in the 4th century AD, when the monastery was built, it was practically suburban area. It hit the city borders only after the Emperor Theodosius ordered to encircle the city with the walls. This, however, did not save monastery from attacks of the enemy - as well as Constantinople. So, it was destroyed very much during another siege of the city in 11 century.
But of course, the main treasure of Kariye monastery in Istanbul is not the walls, very ancient and valuable, but its interior. Literally the WHOLE monastery is decorated from the inside with frescoes and mosaics of the fourteenth century or its beginning. The temple was decorated with the money of the right hand of the Emperor of Byzantium of that time, Andronicus II, whose name was Theodore Metochites. He was not a simple minister, but a very educated one - the fame of his education was spread all over Europe and Asia. They said Metochites was the doctor of philosophical, mathematical and historical sciences. It also found time to engage in public affairs. Chora Church was his personal affair - Metochites paid for its mosaics and frescoes because he was a local parishioner. As a result, unique murals appeared in Kariye depicting scenes from the Bible in chronological order. All this allows to speak about the paintings in Kariye as "the biblical comics for illiterate". By the way, there were books, and lots of them, but the entire library of Kariye - one of the best in Constantinople - according to historians was destroyed during the storming of the city by the Turks a century later.
The interior of the church is to the surprise of tourists much larger than expected from the outside. This is achieved through internal transitions which were built specifically to be a place for murals. Prepare for your neck becomes numb - you’ll have to walk with a raised head. But it’s worth it! Chora’s frescoes and mosaics - though they already have seven hundred years - are perfectly preserved. Take a guide in order to see them properly. Typically, a few guides are on duty in the temple who will be happy for a small fee to make an excursion through Kariye in a strict sequence of subject images. If suddenly (which is unlikely) there won’t be guys, fork out for an album they will sell you in the museum cash office. The sequence in which you need to see the frescoes is indicated in the book for sure!
Remember the frescoes and mosaics of the monastery refer to the New and Old Testaments. So there are paintings relating to childhood of Jesus and his mother, Mary. The images are arranged in such a way that form a sort of vicious circle, and in the end you come to the door under which the erudite grandee was buried. By the way, he is depicted above it in a magnificent robe and in a deep bow in front of the Christ holding a monastery, and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
And in the end you will see the life-affirming descent of Christ into hell, where he takes the hand of Adam and Eve and their sinful offsprings.
In addition to paintings, the monastery keeps amazing stone carvings and marble slabs (though not everywhere).
The museum is open all week long except Wednesday. Opening hours: from 9:30 to 16:30. The cost of tickets - 15 lire (about $10).
|
