| Kariye Museum originally formed the
center of a Byzantine monastery complex. Only the
church section, which was dedicated to Jesus
Christ the Savior, has survived. After the
arrival of the Turks in Istanbul, this building,
like the Hagia Sophia, was converted into a
mosque. In 1948 it was made a museum leaving no
Islamic element in the building except the 19C
minaret outside in the corner. "Kariye" is the
Turkish adaptation of an ancient Greek word
"Chora" which refers to countryside.
Considering the perimeter of the walls of
Constantine (4C AD) the building was located out
of the city. If this theory is correct Chora
Monastery should have been from the 4C. But
unfortunately according to sources, the existence
of Chora Monastery before the 8C is not certain.
Chora went through
many restorations the last most significant
instigated by Theodorus Metochitus, prime
minister and first lord of the treasury, in the
beginning of the 14C. The three most important
features of the church, mosaics, frescoes and the
funerary chapel (Paracclesion) are from that
period. Theodorus Metochitus built the
Paracclesion for himself and he was buried in the
entrance of the church; his grave bears a marble
stone. The art of painting in frescoes and
mosaics were the indications of a new Byzantine
art movement which was parallel to Italian
Renaissance started by Giotto (1266-1337).
The building
consists of the nave, the inner narthex, outer
narthex and the paracclesion. The domes of the
inner narthex and the paracclesion are lower than
the main dome and are only seen from the rear of
the church. The drum is supported on four huge
pilasters in the corners and four great arches
spring from these. The transition is supplied by
pendentives. The drum has 16 flutes, each pierced
by a window. Entrance to the nave is through both
inner and outer narthexes. The niches in the
paracclesion were built to keep sarcophagi, as
this section was the funerary chapel.
In the mosaics,
the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary are
depicted. Background elements and architectural
motifs are highlighted to give depth. The scenes
are realistic as if they were taken from daily
life with figures correctly proportioned. Jesus
has a humanitarian look upon his face.
Mosaics can be
divided into 7 cycles: the nave panels; the six
large dedicatory panels in the inner and outer
narthexes; the ancestry of Jesus in the two domes
of the inner narthex; life of the Virgin Mary in
the first three bays of the inner narthex; the
infancy of Jesus in the lunettes of the outer
narthex; the ministry of Jesus on the vaults of
the outer narthex and the fourth bay in the inner
narthex; and finally the portraits of the saints
on the arches and pilasters of the inner narthex.
Mosaics of major
importance are as follows:
Nave; (1)
Koimesis, the Dormition of the Virgin.
Before ascending to Heaven, her last sleep. Jesus
is holding an infant, symbol of Mary's soul; (2)
Jesus Christ; (3) The Virgin Mary.
Inner
Narthex; (4) The Enthroned Christ with
the Donor, Theodorus Metochitus offering a model
of his church; (5) St. Peter; (6) St. Paul; (7)
Deesis, Christ and the Virgin Mary (without St.
John the Baptist) with two donors below; (8)
Genealogy of Christ; (9) Religious and noble
ancestors of Christ.
The mosaics in the
first three bays of the inner narthex give an
account of the Virgin's birth and life. Some of
them are as follows: (10) Rejection of Joachim's
offerings; (11) Annunciation of St. Anne, the
angel of the Lord announcing to Anne that her
prayer for a child has been heard; (12) Meeting
of Joachim and Anne; (13) Birth of the Blessed
the Virgin; (14) First seven steps of the Virgin;
(15) The Virgin caressed by her parents; (16) The
Virgin blessed by the priests; (17) Presentation
of the Virgin in the Temple; (18) The Virgin
receiving bread from an Angel; (19) The Virgin
receiving the skein of purple wool, as the
priests decided to have the attendant maidens
weave a veil for the Temple; (20) Zacharias
praying, when it was the time to marry for the
Virgin, High Priest Zacharias called all the
widowers together and placed their rods on the
altar, praying for a sign showing to whom she
should be given; (21) The Virgin entrusted to
Joseph; (22) Joseph taking the Virgin to his
house; (23) Annunciation to the Virgin at the
well; (24) Joseph leaving the Virgin, Joseph had
to leave for six months on business and when he
returned the Virgin was pregnant and he became
angry.
Here it continues
not chronologically: (42-44) Miracles.
Outer
Narthex; (25) Joseph's dream and Journey
to Bethlehem; (26) Enrollment for taxation; (27)
Nativity, birth of Christ; (28) Journey of the
Magi; (29) Inquiry of Herod; (30) Flight into
Egypt; (31-32) Massacres ordered by Herod; (33)
Mothers mourning for their children; (34) Flight
of Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist;
(35) Joseph dreaming, Return of the holy family
from Egypt to Nazareth; (36) Christ taken to
Jerusalem for the Passover; (37) St. John the
Baptist bearing witness to Christ; (38) Miracle;
(39-41) Miracles.
(45) Jesus Christ;
(46) The Virgin and Angels praying.
Paracclesion;
The pictures here are frescoes. This chapel was
designed to be a burial place. Among the major
frescoes in the paracclesion are as follows: (47)
Anastasis, the Resurrection. Christ, who had just
broken down the gates of Hell, is standing in the
middle and trying to pull Adam and the Virgin
Mary out of their tombs. Behind Adam stand St.
John the Baptist, David and Solomon. Others are
righteous kings; (48) The Second coming of
Christ, the last judgment. Jesus is enthroned and
on both sides the Virgin Mary and St. John the
Baptist (this trio is also called the Deesis);
(49) The Virgin and Child; (50) Heavenly Court of
Angels; (51-52) Moses.
Kariye
Muzesi, (Chora Museum),
Istanbul
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