Kalenderhane Mosque
Kalenderhane Mosque (Turkish: Kalenderhane Camii) is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
The church was originally dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa. The building represents one of the few existing examples of a Byzantine church with a domed Greek cross plan.
History
The first building on this site was a Roman bath, followed by a sixth-century hall church with an apse laying up against the Valens Aqueduct. Later – possibly in the seventh century – a much larger church was built to the south of the first church. A third church, which reused the sanctuary and the apse of the second one, can be dated to the end of the twelfth century during the late Comnenian period.[1]
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church was assigned personally by Mehmed II to the Kalenderi sect of the Dervish. The Dervishes used it as a zaviye and imaret (public kitchen), and the building has been known since as Kalenderhane. [citation needed]
Trivia
- Kalenderhane translates as 'home of the kalenderi', whereas cami means 'mosque'.