Mosque

Molla Zeyrek Mosque

Its construction began in 1124 and was completed in 1136. During the Latin occupation, the church’s belongings were taken to Venice. The building was used as the tomb of the Komnenos and Palaiologan dynasties.
It was converted into a mosque and madrasah in 1497-1498. It is stated in the foundation reports of Mehmed the Conqueror that it was used as a mosque.
After the earthquake of 1766, repairs were made and wooden decorations, a Baroque style minbar, mihrab and preacher’s pulpit were added.
Partial repairs were made in the 1950s and 1960s, and it has entered a comprehensive restoration process since 2010.

The building was called the Old Monastery of the Pantokrator during the Byzantine period.
The building was the first educational institution in Istanbul during the Ottoman period. Molla Mehmed Effendi, nicknamed Zeyrek, one of the teachers of the madrasah, is the building’s namesake.
It consists of three churches built according to the closed Greek cross plan. It has mosaics, colored marble covering and fresco decorations of the Byzantine period. The floor of the south church is covered with marble slabs made in the rich “Opus sectile” technique.
After the 1766 earthquake, the Baroque style woodwork, minbar, mihrab and decorations added Ottoman features to the mosque.
A section with infrastructure was found in the northern part of the church. The preservation of columns and colored marbles from the Byzantine period in the minbar reflects the Ottoman tolerance towards the heritage of different civilizations.