Kariye Mosque

Chora Church

Chora means countryside, and when built as a monastery in the 4th century it stood outside the Constantine walls; a century later, it was incorporated into the Theodosian walls. It was rebuilt in the 11th century then wrecked by an earthquake, so the structure and fabulous mosaics you see now are from the 14th century. When the church was converted to a mosque in 1500 the mosaics were plastered over, and only restored in 1958 when it became a museum. In 2020 it was again proclaimed a mosque but here (unlike Fethiye Mosque) they saw the sense and tourist income of preserving the mosaics. About 15 minutes before prayer times, visitors are sent out and (if they have kept their ticket) can come back around half an hour later through the main entrance. Those who attend prayer are sent out after prayer; they cannot stay to visit and can only access the parts of the chora that lead to the prayer room.

• Heritage listed
• Wheelchair accessible

• history
• free
• museum

Address

Kariye Cami Sk 18

Getting there

Edirnekapı 900 m

Hours

Sat-Thu 09:00-18:00

Price

Free for Turkish citizens, 20€ for everyone else

Phone

+90 212 631 92 41

Website

kariye.demx.org.tr (opens in a new tab)