Eski Imaret Mosque / Church

I was born and lived the first seven years of my life, next door, literally, a few houses away from the church / mosque named, Eski Imaret.

As a little kid I have played inside it hundreds of times. I use to play while the older people prayed. It is so nice inside it. They say there are graves under it, and you sure can feel something there. 

Go there, if you ever make it to Istanbul. 

It is about a 30 walk from the Blue Misque.

Kalenderhane Mosque

Kalenderhane Mosque

Kalenderhane Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.   The church, when built was originally dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa, meaning Virgin the mother of God.

Kalenderhane Mosque

Built on top of a fifth or sixth century Roman bath complex, the Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa was built in the twelfth century during the Komnenian Dynasty and functioned as a Greek Orthodox Byzantine church until 1453.  In 1453, after the conquest of Constantinople the church was assigned to the Kalenderi Dervishes and they used the structure as a zaviye (Islamic religious school) and imaret (soup kitchen).

In 1746, Haci Besir Aga - chief eunuch of the Topkapi Palace converted the church into a mosque by adding mihrab, minbar, and mahfil.  The structure was restored several times due to the fires that took place in the late nineteenth century.

This is my video filmed in August of 2017 of the interior (hyperlinked below), there is a second video of the exterior, (please find it in YouTube as well), enjoy. 

https://youtu.be/glNk-kRIFVE

Ahmet

Ahmet

     Drawing inside Zeyrek Church/Mosque

This is a very nice name for a boy, the meaning is as following 'Highly praised One'.  I really love that meaning.

Peace everyone,

Ben

🤓

Cardinals of the Catholic Church

Cardinals of the Catholic Church

19 new Cardinals will be elected next month.  An interesting point is that half of these men are non-Europeans; which is a new trend for the Vatican City, since previously, all the men would be from the European continent. 

The ceremony to elevate/elect the new Cardinals; which is known as 'a consistory', will be held on February 22, 2014.  

The Church law states that there needs to be 120 Cardinals, however after the election, there will be a total of 122, this year.  

These individuals have important duties such as:

- elect the Pope in the future. 

- Pope's closest advisers in Vatican City and around the world.  

- leader of the Church in their countries. 

- members of key committees in Rome. 

The following are the elected Archbishops:

1.  Pietro Parolin, Titular Archbishop of Acquapendente, Secretary of State.

2.  Orani Joao Tempesta, O.Cist., Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro.

3.  Lorenzo Baldisseri, Titular Archbishop of Diocleziana, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops.

4.  Gualtiero Bassetti, Archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve, Italy.

5.  Andrew Yeom Soo jung, Archbishop of Seoul, South Korea.

6.  Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Regensburg, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

7.  Beniamino Stella, Titular Archbishop of Midila, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

8.  Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, United Kingdom.

9.  Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solorzano, Archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua.

10.  Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, Canada.

11.  Jean-Pierre Kutwa, Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

12.  Mario Aurelio Poli, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

13.  Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., Archbishop of Santiago del Cile, Chile.

14.  Philippe Nakellentuba Ouedraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

15.  Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato, Philippines.

16.  Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti.

17.  Loris Francesco Capovilla, Titular Archbishop of Mesembria.

18.  Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, C.M.F., Archbishop emeritus of Pamplona.

19.  Kelvin Edward Felix, Archbishop emeritus of Castries.

Pope Francis, made the announcement at St. Peter's Square, Vatican City on January 12, 2014, for his Sunday blessing. 

Sincerely, 

Ben