The former church of the Theotokos Pammakaristos ("the All-Blessed Mother of God"), now the Fethiye Mosque (Fethiye Camii), overlooks the Çarşamba neighbourhood of the Fatih district, on the heights above Balat and Fener. The main church dates from the 11th-12th centuries; around 1310, Maria Doukaina Glabaina added a funerary chapel, the parecclesion, for her husband Michael Glabas Tarchaniotes, a general of Emperor Andronikos II. After the Ottoman conquest, the building housed the seat of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate from 1456 to 1587, before being converted into a mosque in 1591 under Murad III, who named it Fethiye ("of the conquest") to commemorate his campaigns in Georgia and Azerbaijan. The main church is a working mosque, reopened for worship in January 2022 after two years of restoration by the General Directorate of Foundations. The parecclesion, which keeps its early 14th-century mosaics, is a museum run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: it is closed to visitors for restoration work, with no reopening date announced as of 1 October 2026.
Highlights
The exterior and its façades
The building alternates courses of brick and stone, with blind arcades, niches and several domes raised on drums. The parecclesion, on the south side, stands out for its more richly articulated façades. A verse inscription by the poet Manuel Philes, dedicated to Christ, runs along the inside and outside of the chapel: look for it below the cornice. While the museum is closed, this is the part you can see by walking around the building.
The Pantocrator dome
At the centre of the parecclesion's main dome, a medallion of Christ Pantocrator is surrounded by twelve Old Testament prophets, including Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Jonah. Together with Hagia Sophia and Chora Church, the chapel holds one of the main groups of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul.
The Deesis in the apse
In the apse, Christ sits enthroned under the title Hyperagathos ("the supremely good"), while the Virgin and St John the Baptist, on the neighbouring walls, turn towards him in intercession. The parecclesion also keeps a complete scene of the Baptism of Christ and figures of bishop saints and monks on the vaults and arches.
The mosque
The main church, altered during the Ottoman conversion, is used for prayer today. It has no mosaics on display: all the Byzantine decoration is in the parecclesion. You can visit it outside prayer times, suitably dressed.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Do not come for the mosaics while the museum is closed: the official page of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism lists it as closed, and the press reported in May 2026 a temporary closure for maintenance and restoration, with no reopening date. The visit is then limited to the exterior and the mosque. For the mosque: shoulders and knees covered, hair covered for women, shoes off, and no visits during prayers, especially at midday on Fridays. Çarşamba is a conservative, residential neighbourhood: be discreet with your camera. If you come on a Wednesday, the Fatih Wednesday market takes place in the nearby streets. To place the building among the other monuments of Constantinople, see our Byzantine Istanbul itinerary. Information as observed in October 2026.
How to get there
Balat Mah., Fethiye Kapısı Sk., 34087 Fatih/İstanbul (Çarşamba neighbourhood). Tram T5 (Cibali-Alibeyköy), Fener stop, then a 10 to 15-minute walk uphill through the streets of Fener. Several bus lines from Eminönü run along the Golden Horn to the Fener stop. From the Fatih Mosque, allow about 15 minutes on foot heading north through the streets of Çarşamba.
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