Chora Church (Kariye Mosque)

Sitting about six kilometres from Sultanahmet, the Chora gets fewer crowds simply because of the distance. This small brick church close to the old land walls holds the best-preserved late Byzantine mosaics in existence: scenes on gold grounds telling the lives of Christ and the Virgin, created around 1315-1321, plus a side chapel whose Resurrection fresco draws art historians from all over the world. The building has served as a working mosque since May 2024, and tourists pay €20 to go in.

Key facts

History in brief

In the 5th century a monastery stood on this site, outside the city walls, which explains the name: chora means countryside. The present church was rebuilt more than once, and its current decoration was funded in the early 14th century by Theodore Metochites, a high official and scholar at the court of Emperor Andronikos II. A mosaic over the door to the nave shows him on his knees presenting the church to Christ. Following the Ottoman conquest, it was turned into a mosque in the early 16th century. In 1945 the Republic made it a museum, and in the 1950s American restorers brought the mosaics to light. Closed for restoration in 2020, it reopened as a mosque in May 2024, with a paid route for visitors.

What is open today

Visitors can see the two narthexes (the entrance halls) and the parekklesion, the funerary chapel along the south side. The central prayer hall is reserved for worship, and some of its mosaics are covered.

• Outer narthex: scenes from the life of Christ, from the trip to Bethlehem through his miracles.
• Inner narthex: the life of the Virgin, drawn from the apocryphal Gospel of James. Find the embrace of Joachim and Anna, and the infant Mary taking her first seven steps.
• The inner narthex domes, where Christ and the Virgin are ringed by their ancestors in rows radiating outwards.
• The Metochites mosaic over the nave door.
• The Anastasis fresco in the parekklesion apse, showing Christ breaking down the gates of hell and lifting Adam and Eve from their graves. It ranks among the greatest images in Byzantine art.

When to go

The best time is a weekday morning. Do not come on a Friday, when tourists cannot enter. The building is small, so one tour group can crowd the inner narthex; if that happens, slip into the parekklesion and return later.

Half-day tours seldom include the Chora because of its location. Our Best of Istanbul: 1, 2 or 3-Day Private Guided Istanbul Tour normally fits it into the day spent on the land walls, Balat and Fener, and the 6 Days Private Turkey Tour; Istanbul & Cappadocia covers it during the Istanbul part.

Tips

• Many of the best mosaics are up in the vaults, so bring binoculars or use your phone's zoom.
• No flash is permitted, and it would not help. Keep steady in the dim light.
• Nearby streets have wooden Ottoman houses and a handful of small cafés, handy for a tea during a prayer break.
• Pair the visit with the Theodosian Land Walls at Edirnekapi and a downhill walk to Balat and Fener.
• Taxis back to Sultanahmet cost more in rush hour, as traffic near the walls slows from 16:30.

Our Istanbul destination page lists more sights outside Sultanahmet.

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