THE KARIYE (CHORA) MUSEUM- KARÝYE MÜZESÝ
Kariye, from the Greek "Chora" meaning village or even merely district, shows that this historic monument was originally only a very small church, a sanctuary built outside the walls by Constantine the Great. After Theodosius had enlarged the area within the walls, the sanctuary found itself included in the city limits. Later, under the Paleologus emperors, the meaning of the word "chora" having changed, this church representing the Son of God in his most spiritual aspect, saw its importance increasing, the more so since a monastery was instituted in the sanctuary.
Under the reign of Justinian, the church, which was little more than a ruin, was restored by a monk named Theodorus. But the terrible earthquake of October 6 in, 557, destroyed the church. Subsequently Justinian had it totally reconstructed.
Now a basilica, it was sacked by the iconoclasts under Constantino Copronymus (741-775), and once again restored. After 846 there is no mention in Byzantine annals of the church, which had fallen into disuse and was merely a ruin up to the reign of Alexus Comnenus, whose step-mother Maria Doukain, wishing to dedicate a sanctuary to Jesus Christ, had it totally restored and improved, it was at this time that the church took on its present architectural form. In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, the Latins did not sack the church, but in the 14th century it fell once again into a state of disrepair. Under the Emperor Andronicus II Theodorus Methochites, scholar and humanist, decided on the restoration of the church and the restoration of the church and the monastery. It is to him that we owe the wonderful mosaics and splendid frescoes that we admire today. But having incurred the displeasure of the Emperor, exiled and in disgrance, Methochites saw his possessions confiscated. Andronicus III, seizing the church, burned the palace of Methochites that was situated nearby Theodorus Methochites, resuming from his exile, lived in the monastery as a humble monk and was buried in front of the church that he had so beautified. It was in this church that the historian Nicephorus Gregorus, also fallen into disgrace, remained imprisoned. After the conquest of the city by Fatih, the church remained as it was up to the reign of Sultan Beyazit II, when it was converted into a mosque on the orders of the Grand Vizier Ali Pasa, who according to custom added to it a religious school or medrese, to which in 1776 on the orders of the Grand Eunuch Besir Aga, was added an alms-house with free distribution of food to the poor, as well as a second school.
In time, the mosaics which had been covered in chalk, reappeared. And from the beginning of the present century they could be clearly seen.
Under the Republic, the repair of the mosque was undertaken by the Vakif Department, which converted it into a museum. Members of the American Byzantine Institute, with admirable patience, washed the mosaics one by one, repaired the building and transformed it into the gem that we admire today. As soon as we enter the church, in the exterior narthex, we see some superb mosaics representing the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus. Afterwards we come to an inner Narthex, also covered with same very beautiful mosaics.
The Church comprises on the main building a baptistery and additive recess. Surrounded by annexes, the central building and its floor, as well as the wall of the exterior narthex, are covered with colored marble. The mihrab which dates from the Osmanli era is also covered with the same marble. The building comprises a large dome surrounded by five smaller domes. There is a square in front of the church where vehicles can park, all the more easily since the school and the alms-house have now disappeared.
