The Proud Stand

Emperor Constantine looked at his guests sitting around the imperial rectangle table, smiled dryly, and said softly, “greetings everyone.” 

The guests leaned forward toward the emperor. The ruler continued, “Madams, sirs, illustrious captains of the army, and our most Christian friends, I bid you all welcome to my table this evening.” 

He cleared his throat, then continued loudly, “We are here today to enjoy a delicious meal and drink. Before beginning to eat, I want to bring to everyone’s attention that the hour of battle is approaching. I want to make it clear to everyone, we, the people of Constantinople, must stand together with firm resolution. Remember that we have always fought with glory against the enemies of Christ. Now the defence of your fatherland will begin, the infidel, evil, and hideous Ottoman Turks are preparing for a siege of our city, once again.” 

The Proud Stand by the last emperor of the Byzantine Empire is exciting; this novelette tells the tale of the last confrontation between the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires. 

Purchase the book today. ENJOY!

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