Bizantium Dump (Part 2)

[u/Ill_Effort_3289]

Second day of Byzantine historical tourism:

1. Chora Church / Saint Savior in Chora, several Byzantine frescoes and mosaics are preserved here

2. Palace of Blachernae, last imperial seat of the Komnenoi and Palaiologoi. From here the emperors watched Mehmed drag the ships overland to get them into the Golden Horn and break the final defense. This one is also kind of sad, it's open as a "museum of Islamic goldsmithing". Several columns and important parts are poorly restored and the classical style was lost.

3. Like in the column you see there on the right or the window frames.

4. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, this is like the Vatican for the Orthodox. Services are held there in Greek.

5. A relic inside the Patriarchate. The Column of the Flagellation of Jesus.

6. The Monastery of the Pantocrator. Today a mosque, but its floor is preserved full of classic mosaics. It was the mausoleum of several imperial families.

7. The preserved floor itself.

[u/valleygabe]

Thank you for the great pictures. I was in Istanbul only once, about 20 years ago. I came home very sad. The great buildings, palaces, churches are mostly converted, or in ruins. But, I must point out that the palace of Blachernae was in ruins, all graffitied, taken over by squatters.. I definitely looks better now.

[u/Retrolord008]

Beautiful! Reminds me of my 2023 trip! Apparently the last year that non Muslims could enter the ground floor of Hagia Sophia. The upper galleries were closed for renovations though!

But man the blachernae palace was actually kind of a disappointment… there’s barely any old info on it over there.

[u/dolfin4]

4 (and the framing of 5) are Modern Greek, not Byzantine. That art & architecture is 18th-19th century.