Rose Mosque
Rose Mosque or Gül Mosque (Turkish: Gül Camii, meaning: "The Mosque of the Rose" in English) is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
History
It is one of the most important religious Byzantine buildings of Constantinople still extant, but its dedication and the date of its construction, which for long time appeared certain, are now disputed by scholars.
Database Entry
Originally known as the Hagia Theodosia for a woman martyred during a brief, but violent period of the Orthodox iconoclasm in the eighth century, Rose Mosque, or Gul Camii, gained its new name after a tragic, though rather poetic, set of events.
On the eve of the final day of the Ottoman seige of Constantinople, legend holds that Emperor Constantine XI and the Orthodox Patriarch of the city held their final vigil here, praying for a miracle to deliver them from almost certain death. When the time came for the Emperor to lead his final defense, hundreds of people had remained in the church, adoring it with rose petals and chanting endless prayers for their safety.
The next day, the Ottomans broke through the walls and the city fell. When Sultan Mehmet's army reached the Hagia Theodosia, they found it littered with rose petals and heavy-hearted citizens. All who had remained were tsken prisoner, and the church was converted for general military purposes.
Some two decades later, the Ottimans repaired the structure for use as a place of worship, calling it Rose Mosque in remembrance of its final days as a Christian church.