| Eski Imaret Mosque Eski Imaret Câmîi | |
|---|---|
 The mosque viewed from the south. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Year consecrated | Short after 1453 |
| Location | |
| Location | Istanbul,Turkey |
  Location in the Fatih district of Istanbul | |
| Coordinates | 41°1′18″N28°57′18″E / 41.02167°N 28.95500°E /41.02167; 28.95500 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | church withcross-in-square plan |
| Style | Middle Byzantine - Comnenian |
| Completed | Short before 1087 |
| Materials | brick, stone |
TheEski Imaret Mosque (Turkish:Eski Imaret Camii) is a formerByzantine church converted into a mosque by theOttomans. The church has traditionally been identified as belonging to theMonastery ofChrist Pantepoptes (Greek:Μονή του Χριστού Παντεπόπτη), meaning "Christ the all-seeing". It is the only documented 11th-century church inIstanbul which survives intact, and represents a key monument of middleByzantine architecture. Despite that, it remains among the least studied buildings in the city.
The building lies in Istanbul, in the district ofFatih, in the neighbourhood ofZeyrek, one of the poorest areas inside the oldwalled city. It is less than one kilometre northwest of the even more impressiveZeyrek Mosque.
It was the PatriarchConstantius I (1830–1834) who identified the Eski Imaret Mosque as the old Pantepoptes church.[1] Although this identification has been generally accepted,Cyril Mango argued[2] that its location didn't allow a complete overview of theGolden Horn, and instead suggested the site currently occupied by theYavuz Sultan Selim Mosque as an alternative placing for the Pantepoptes Monastery.[3] Austay-Effenberger and Effenberger agreed with Mango, and argued that it might actually have been the Church of St. Constantine, founded by the EmpressTheophano in the early 10th century, highlighting its similarities to the contemporaneousLips Monastery.[4]
Some time before 1087,Anna Dalassena, mother of theByzantine EmperorAlexius I Comnenus, built aconvent dedicated toChristos Pantepoptes on the summit of the fourth ofConstantinople's seven hills where she retired at the end of her life, following Imperial custom.[5] The convent included a church, also dedicated to the Pantepoptes.
On April 12, 1204, during thesiege of Constantinople, EmperorAlexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos established his headquarters near the monastery. From this vantage point he could watch theVenetian fleet under the command ofDogeEnrico Dandolo deploying between themonastery of the Euergetes and thechurch of St. Mary of the Blachernae before attacking the city.[6] After the successful attack he took flight abandoning his purpletent on the spot, thus allowingBaldwin of Flanders to spend his victory night inside it.[6] The complex was sacked by theCrusaders, and afterwards it was assigned toBenedictine monks fromSan Giorgio Maggiore inRome.[7] During theLatin occupation of Constantinople (1204–1261) the building became aRoman Catholic church.
Immediately after the Ottomanconquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church became a mosque, while the monastic buildings were used as azaviye,[8]medrese andimaret for the nearbyFatih Mosque, which was then under construction.[9] The Turkish name for the mosque ("Old Soup Kitchen Mosque") recall this.
The complex has been ravaged by fire several times, and the last traces of the monastery disappeared about a century ago.[5] Until 1970 the building was used as aKoran school, which rendered it largely inaccessible for architectural study. In 1970, the mosque was partially closed off and restored by the Turkish architect Fikret Çuhadaroğlu.
It has been restored twice: once in the 1970s by architect Fikret Çuhadaroglu; and again during an unauthorized restoration in the 1990s.[10]
Its undulating roofline, obscured by a single flat roof in Ottoman times, was rebuilt in the 1970 restoration.[10]
In 2015, restoration works began on the Eski Imaret Mosque with an expected opening date of 2019, however this was later halted for unknown reason.[11]
As of 2024, the Eski Imaret Mosque is still under restoration.[11]
The building lies on a slope which overlooks theGolden Horn, and rests on a platform which is the ceiling of acistern. It is hemmed in all sides, making inspection of the exterior difficult. Itsmasonry consists of brick and stone, and uses therecessed brick technique; it is the oldest extant building of Constantinople in which this technique - which is typical of theMiddle Byzantine architecture - can be observed, .[12] In this technique, alternate courses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall in amortar bed. The thickness of the mortar layers is roughly three times greater than that of the brick layers. The bricktiles on the roof are unique among the churches and mosques of Istanbul, which are otherwise covered withlead.[13]
The plan belongs to thecross-in-square (orquincunx) type with a centraldome and fourvaulted crossarms, asanctuary to the east and anesonarthex and anexonarthex to the west. This appears to be an addition of thePalaiologan period, replacing an olderportico, and is divided into three bays. The lateral ones are surmounted bycross vaults, the central one by a dome.
A unique feature of this building is the U-shaped gallery which runs over the narthex and the two western bays of the quincunx. The gallery has windows opening towards both thenaos and the crossarm. It is possible that the gallery was built for the private use of the Empress-Mother.[5]
As in many of the surviving Byzantine churches of Istanbul, the fourcolumns which supported the crossing were replaced by piers, and the colonnades at either ends of the crossarms were filled in.[5] The piers divide the nave into threeaisles. The side aisles lead into small clover-leaf-shaped chapels to the east, connected to the sanctuary and ended to the east, like the sanctuary, with anapse. These chapels are theprothesis anddiaconicon. The Ottomans resurfaced the apses and added aminaret, since lost.
Thedome, which during the Ottoman period was given a helmet-like shape, recovered its original scalloped roofline in the restoration of 1970. This is typical of the churches of theMacedonian period.[14] The tent-like roofing of the gallery has also been replaced with tiles that follow the curves of the vaulting.[5]
The exterior has occasional decorative motifs, likesunbursts,meanders, basket-wave patterns andcloisonnés: the latter motif is typical of theGreek architecture of this period but unknown elsewhere in Constantinople. Of the original interior, nothing remains but some marblemouldings,cornices, and doorframes.
