Imagine Anna Komnena standing right where you stand. She oversaw the construction of the Pantepoptes Monastery. That monastery included the church now known as Eski \u0130maret Camii.
Eski \u0130maret Camii whispers tales of transitions. It began as a Byzantine church. Later it became an Ottoman mosque. Its stones have witnessed empires rise and fall.
Anna Komnena the mother of Emperor Alexios I commissioned this sacred space in the 11th century. The Pantepoptes Monastery meant “Christ the all-seeing”. Alexios gifted islands to another monastery in 1087. This suggests the Pantepoptes Monastery existed between 1081 and 1087. Anna retired to the monastery after playing a key role in Byzantine politics for over twenty years. She died here in her private chamber.
Eski \u0130maret Camii saw dark days too. Patriarch Teodosios was confined here after a revolt in 1181. Andronikos I imprisoned his commander Andronikos Lapardas at the monastery. He had blinded him first.
During the Crusader occupation, the church became a Roman Catholic church. It belonged to the Benedictine order of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. When the Byzantines retook the city in 1261, the monastery returned to its original purpose.
After Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered Istanbul in 1453, many churches changed roles. This monastery became an imaret a kind of public kitchen before the Fatih Külliyesi was built. The church served as a mosque for this complex. It became known as Eski \u0130maret Mescidi or Old Public Kitchen Mosque.
Fire damaged Eski \u0130maret Camii over the centuries. Notes mention repairs funded by the Haremeyn Treasury. Its architecture shows these changes. Old photos reveal its neglected state. In the 1930s, the minaret was half-collapsed. Yet the interior remained clean. Prayers continued. Wooden houses crowded its entrance.
In 1954, it served as a Quran school. Its interior became a dormitory. The outer hall transformed into a kitchen. Fortunately architect Fikret \u00c7uhadaro\u011flu renovated Eski \u0130maret Camii in the 1970s. He restored its exterior to its original design.
The church stands on a steep slope. Builders created a level foundation with a vaulted basement. This basement later became a cistern. The roofline was originally uneven. It was straightened. However recent restorations revived the original arches.
Eski \u0130maret Camii has unique features. It is Istanbul’s only mosque with a tiled dome. Two cross-vaulted halls or narthexes sit on its west side. The main hall is a four-pier closed cross. A dome rises in the center. The supports are not original. Columns likely cracked due to fires. They were replaced with masonry piers. An upper gallery opens with two columns.
The mosque’s exterior has a projecting apse. Four-lobed cloverleaf cells flank it. No traces remain of the surrounding monastery. Despite its historical importance Eski \u0130maret Camii is not in good condition.
Traditionally converted churches like Eski \u0130maret Camii displayed double banners. The imam delivered sermons with a sword. These traditions have faded.
Remember Anna Komnena as you gaze upon Eski \u0130maret Camii. This building embodies Istanbul’s layered past. Its walls echo with prayers in different tongues across centuries.