Hagia Irini

The Hagia Irini church which comes from the Byzantine period stands in the courtyard of Topkapi Palace in Sultanahmet. This church is the second biggest Byzantine church after Hagia Sophia that survived until the present day. The church was built by the Byzantine Emperor Lustiniaus I by early IVth Century (360) AD in Istanbul. It has a special layout which represents the transition to closed Hellenistic cross form from the domed basilica form. On the northwest there stands a two storey narthex and next to it a two storey atrium. It is known that the Hagia Irini Church was constructed onto the remains of Roman temples. No embellishment other than the huge cross on a golden background inside the semi-dome of the apsis and greek inscription aside has survived until today. The original version of the title Hagia Irini is “Hagia Eirene” . These words mean Holy Piece and are known as the name of a saint as well. The church which was damaged by several earthquakes and fires has been restored three times throughout the history.After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 by Mehmed II, the church was enclosed inside the Sultan's Walls.Hagia Irini was first restorated in 1840 by Fossatiler. It is known that the church which was not turned to a mosque and the orginal state of which was maintained during the Ottoman Empire was used as a booty and weapon warehouse . Hagia Irini at the same time is the first museum of the Ottoman Period. In the year 1869 it was named Muze-i Humayun (Museum of the Empire) Due to the insufficiency of exhibition spaces inside the church the opuses displayed here have been moved to Cinili Kosk in the year 1875. The church has been used as a military museum from 1880 to 1940.Today, the museum serves mainly as a concert hall for classical music performances, due to its extraordinary acoustic characteristics and impressive atmosphere. Most of the concerts of the Istanbul International Music Festival have been held here every summer since 1980. The church may be visited by obtaining permission from the Museum Management of Hagia Sophia.Source:http://www.pointsfromturkey.com/http://en.wikipedia.org