Chora Church (Kariye Mosque): mosaics and opening hours

The former Byzantine church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, now the Kariye Mosque (Kariye Camii), stands in the Edirnekapı neighbourhood of the Fatih district, a few streets from the [Theodosian Walls](/fr/attractions/murailles-de-theodose). A museum from 1945 to 2020, it reopened as a mosque on 6 May 2024 after four years of restoration by the General Directorate of Foundations. Since August 2024, foreign visitors have paid €20 and can enter from 9am to 6pm, except on Fridays and during prayers. Its appeal lies in its early 14th-century mosaics and frescoes, commissioned between 1315 and 1321 by Theodore Metochites, a senior dignitary at the Palaiologan court. The name Chora ("the countryside") recalls that the first monastery stood outside the walls of Constantine. Turned into a mosque around 1511, the church kept its decoration, which was uncovered and restored by the Byzantine Institute of America from 1948 to 1958. Allow 45 minutes to 1 hour for the visit.

Highlights

The narthex mosaics

The two entrance halls hold most of the decoration: the life of the Virgin in the inner narthex, the childhood and miracles of Christ in the outer narthex, and the genealogy of Christ in the two small domes. Above the door to the naos, Theodore Metochites, wearing his large court hat, offers a model of the church to Christ; further on, the large Deesis shows Christ and the Virgin with two donors.

The Anastasis in the parecclesion

In the side funerary chapel, painted in fresco, the apse shows the risen Christ pulling Adam and Eve from their tombs, with the broken gates of hell beneath his feet. The vault is filled by the Last Judgement, and the niches in the walls held the tombs of the founders.

The building and its domes

From outside, the building alternates courses of brick and stone beneath several domes, with the minaret added in the Ottoman period. The restored garden lets you walk around it before going in.

The naos

The main hall, covered with carpets, is used for prayer. Its three mosaics, the Dormition of the Virgin above the entrance and Christ and the Virgin and Child on either side of the former sanctuary, are hidden by an automatic curtain during prayers and visible the rest of the time.

Opening hours and tickets

Tourist visits daily from 9am to 6pm except Fridays, reserved for worship all day under the rules announced by the operator (some visitors report access after the prayer: do not count on it); the ticket office closes at 5:55pm. Entry €20 for foreign visitors, a price set in 2024 and not republished since: check it on the spot, free for children aged 8 and under, Turkish citizens and worshippers coming to pray. The Museum Pass Istanbul is not accepted. Tourist entry stops 15 minutes before each prayer and nobody stays inside during the service.

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