Something About Hagia Irene

Irene, I'll get you in my dreams.

It’s Turkey week here and I suppose before Friday I’ll have to suffer through yams. Dalcy made ‘em for Sandrine when she growing up and now the two of them have something else to bond over. I never understood the appeal. Not even yam crisps, or fries.

But Turkey did get me thinking about Johnny and the professor’s running around mid-15th century Constantinople. What else did they see from the tabergan? What walkways did they wander through and what wonders were seen from afar? Who knows? But here are some things you can see when you next visit.

Did you know there’s another Hagia out there besides Sophia? Hagia Irene (“Holy Peace”) is an Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace. It’s one of the few churches in Istanbul not converted into a mosque. And I sense Johnny would have seen this smaller church since it’s next door to the north of Hagia Sophia.

An earlier church on the site burnt and this beauty was rebuilt by Justinian in the 6th Century with some additions by Constantine V in the 8th Century. Time passed and it became a museum in the 19th Century. 

After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church was enclosed inside the walls of the Topkapi palace. It was used as an arsenal until 1826. During the reign of Sultan Ahmet III (1703-30) it was converted into the National Military Museum in 1726. Today, Hagia Irene serves as a concert hall for classical music performances, due to its acoustic characteristics and impressive atmosphere.

Mumtāz!