Eski Imaret Mosque

Eski Imaret Mosque Eski Imaret Câmîi
An Aerial view showing the location of the building. In the background Suleymaniye Mosque and the Beyazıt Tower
Basic information
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Geographic coordinates	41°1′18″N 28°57′18″E / 41.02167°N 28.95500°E / 41.02167; 28.95500
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Year consecrated	Short after 1453
Architectural description
Architectural type	church with cross-in-square plan
Architectural style	Middle Byzantine - Comnenian
Completed	Short before 1087
Materials	brick, stone

Eski Imaret Mosque (Turkish: Eski Imaret Camii) is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The church has traditionally been identified with that belonging to the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes (Greek: Μονή του Χριστού Παντεπόπτη), meaning "Christ the all-seeing". It is the only documented 11th-century church in Istanbul which survives intact, and represents a key monument of middle Byzantine architecture. Despite that, the building remains one among the least studied of the city.

The building lies in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Zeyrek, one of the poorest areas of the walled city. It is located less than one kilometer to the northwest of the complex of Zeyrek.

Some time before 1087, Anna Dalassena, mother of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, built on the top of the fourth hill of Constantinople a nunnery, dedicated to Christos Pantepoptes, where she retired at the end of her life, following Imperial custom. The convent comprised a main church, also dedicated to the Pantepoptes.

On April 12, 1204, during the siege of Constantinople, Emperor Alexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos set his headquarters near the Monastery. From this vantage point he could see the Venetian fleet under command of Doge Enrico Dandolo deploying between the monastery of the Euergetes and the church of St. Mary of the Blachernae before attacking the city. After the successful attack he took flight abandoning his purple tent on the spot, and so allowing Baldwin of Flanders to spend his victory night inside it. The complex was sacked by the crusaders, and afterward it was assigned to Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore. During the Latin occupation of Constantinople (1204–1261) the building became a Roman Catholic church.