Fethiye Muzesi (Pammakaristos Church)

The Monastery of the Theotokos Pammakaristos, now known as Fethiye Mosque and Museum, stands on the fifth hill of the old city of Istanbul in the Çarşamba neighborhood. This Middle Byzantine church, founded during the Komnenian era, features exceptional late Byzantine architectural elements, particularly a richly decorated side chapel known as a parekklesion added in the early 14th century.

The structure is notable for its extensively preserved Byzantine mosaics, which date to approximately 1310. The interior showcases golden mosaic panels depicting religious figures and scenes, including representations in the dome and apse. These works, from the Palaiologan period, rank among the most important surviving Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul after those of the Chora Church and Hagia Sophia. Following the fall of Constantinople, the church served as the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate from 1456 to 1587 before its conversion to a mosque in 1591.

The site underwent restoration in the mid-20th century. Today the complex functions partially as an active mosque and partially as a museum housing the mosaics of the funerary chapel.