Palace of Blachernae

Blachernae (Medieval Greek: Βλαχέρναι) was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Panagia Blacherniotissa), built by Empress Pulcheria in c. 450, expanded by Emperor Leo I (r. 457–474) and renovated by Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) in the 6th century.

The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Greek: τὸ Παλάτιον τοῦ Πορφυρογεννήτου), known in Turkish as the Tekfur Sarayı ("Palace of the Sovereign"), is a late 13th-century Byzantine palace in the north-western part of the old city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey). An annex of the greater palace complex of Blachernae, it is the best preserved of the three Byzantine palaces to survive in the city (together with the ruins of the Boukoleon Palace; and the ruins of the Great Palace of Constantinople with its surviving substructures, retrieved mosaics and standing Magnaura section), and one of the few relatively intact examples of late Byzantine secular architecture in the world.

The Kariye Mosque (Turkish: Kariye Camii), and formerly known as the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora (Greek: Ἐκκλησία τοῦ Ἁγίου Σωτῆρος ἐν τῇ Χώρᾳ), was a medieval Greek Orthodox church, now used as a mosque, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. The neighborhood is situated in the western part of the municipality (belediye) of the Fatih district. The building is an example of Byzantine architecture. In the 16th century, during the Ottoman era, it was converted into a mosque; it became a museum in 1945, and was turned back into a mosque in 2020 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Its desecularization has, however, been halted as of January 2021 due to lack of Islamic cultural significance and clerical interest in the site, compared to the Hagia Sophia. The interior of the building is covered with some of the oldest and finest surviving Byzantine Christian mosaics and frescoes; they were uncovered and restored after the building was secularized and turned into a museum.

Edirnekapı is a quarter of Istanbul, Turkey. It is part of the district of Fatih and belongs to the walled city. It corresponds roughly to the central part of the sixth Hill of Istanbul, which is the highest point of the walled city. It lies south of the Blachernae section of the Walls and of the neighborhood of Ayvansaray, northwest of Karagümrük and west of Salmatomruk. The quarter corresponds to the Byzantine quarter of Deuteron. The name Edirnekapı ("Gate of Edirne") hearkens back to Edirne's Gate (the ancient Gate of Charisius), crossed by the old road, which led to Edirne, the ancient Adrianople in Thracia. The district had a significant percentage of Orthodox Christian population, which left it for more central areas after 1955.The quarter is crossed by Fevzi Paşa Caddesi, one of the most important roads of the historic part of Istanbul.

Boğdan Sarayi (Turkish for "Palace of Bogdania (Moldavia)") was an Eastern Orthodox church in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul. Erected in the Byzantine era, its original dedication is unknown. In the Ottoman era the small edifice, being dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, was known as Agios Nikólaos tou Bogdansarághi (Greek: Ἅγιος Νικόλαος τοῦ Βογδανσαράγι). and was part of the Istanbul residence of the Moldavian hospodar′s legation to the Ottoman Porte. The building – whose parts above ground have almost completely disappeared – is a minor example of Byzantine architecture in Constantinople.

The Prison of Anemas (Turkish: Anemas Zindanları) is a large Byzantine building attached to the walls of the city of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). It is traditionally identified with the prisons named after Michael Anemas, a Byzantine general who rose in unsuccessful revolt against Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) and was the first person to be imprisoned there. The prison features prominently in the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, when four Byzantine emperors were imprisoned there.

The Kefeli Mosque (Turkish: Kefeli Câmîi, meaning "the mosque of the Caffariotes", after the inhabitants of the city of Caffa in Crimea, or also Kefeli Mescidi, where Mescit is the Turkish word for a small mosque) is a former Eastern Orthodox church, later jointly officiated by Roman Catholics and Armenians, and finally converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The Catholic Church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Its date of dedication as an Eastern Orthodox church is unknown, but it is commonly identified with the 9th-century Monastery of Manuel (Greek: Μονὴ τοῦ Μανουήλ). The interest of Kefeli Mosque arises because it repurposes the early Christian basilica form during the later Byzantine period.

The Odalar Mosque (Turkish: Odalar Câmîi, meaning "the mosque of the barracks" after the nearby accommodations of the married Jannisaries established in this quarter in the 18th century. Also: Kemankeş Mustafa Paşa Câmîi) was an Ottoman mosque in Istanbul. The building was originally a Byzantine-era Eastern Orthodox church of unknown dedication. In 1475, after the Fall of Constantinople (1453), it became a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to Saint Mary of Constantinople, until finally it was converted into a mosque by the Ottomans in 1640. The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1919, and since then has fallen into ruin. As of 2011, only some walls remain, hidden among modern buildings.

Saint Mary of Blachernae (full name in Greek: Θεοτόκος των Βλαχερνών (pr. Theotókos ton Vlachernón); Turkish name: Meryem Ana Kilisesi) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul. The small church building was constructed in 1867 on the site of a fifth century shrine which had the same dedication. The shrine had been one of the most important sanctuaries of the Greek Orthodox Church until its destruction in 1434.

Ayvansaray is a neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey. It is part of the district of Fatih and part of the walled city. It lies between the southern shore of the Golden Horn, the Blachernae section of the Walls, and the neighborhoods of Balat and Edirnekapı. It corresponds to the old quarter of Blachernae (Vlachérnai in Greek). The name Ayvansaray is from Persian ایوان‌سرای (Iwan + Saray) and means "Veranda Palace". This name hearkens back to the Palace of Alexios I Komnenos (now disappeared), which was part of the complex of Blachernae.Ayvansaray has a number of historic monuments, like the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Tekfur Palace), the mosque of Atik Mustafa Pasha (originally a medieval Byzantine church), and the Ayazma ("holy spring") enclosed in the small church of St. Mary of Blachernae. It is a picturesque quarter.

Kasım Ağa Mosque (Turkish: Kasım Ağa Mescidi; also Kâsım Bey Mescidi, where mescit is the Turkish word for a small mosque) is a former Byzantine building converted into a mosque by the Ottomans in Istanbul, Turkey. Neither surveying during the last restoration nor medieval sources have made it possible to find a satisfactory answer as to its origin and possible dedication. It is probable that the small building was part of the Byzantine complex and monastery whose main church was the building known in Ottoman era as the Odalar Mosque, whose dedication is also uncertain. The edifice is a minor example of Byzantine architecture in Constantinople.

Ahrida (Ohrid) Synagogue (Hebrew: קהל קדוש אכרידה) is one of the oldest synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in Balat, once a thriving Jewish quarter in the city.