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.
