Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque
| Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque Sancaktar Hayrettin Câmîi |
|
|---|---|
The mosque viewed from the north
|
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°00′09.90″N 28°56′04.80″E / 41.0027500°N 28.9346667°E |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Country | Turkey |
| Year consecrated | Short after 1453 |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | church |
| Architectural style | Byzantine |
| Completed | 14th Century |
| Specifications | |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
| Materials | brick, stone |
Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque (Turkish: Sancaktar Hayrettin Câmîi; also Sancaktar Hayrettin Mescidi, where Mescit is the Turkish word for a small mosque, or Sancaktar Mescidi) is part of a former Eastern Orthodox monastery converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. It is generally believed that the small building belonged to the Byzantine Monastery of Gastria (Greek: Μονῆ τῶν Γαστρίων, Monē tōn Gastríōn, meaning "Monastery of the Vases"). The edifice is a minor example of Palaiologan architecture in Constantinople, and is important for historical reasons.
The medieval structure, choked by artisan shops, lies in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighborhood of Kocamustafapaşa (historically Samatya), on Teberdar Sokak, about five hundred meters north east of the Kocamustafapaşa station of the suburban railway line between Sirkeci and Halkalı.
The origin of this building, which lies on the southern slope of the seventh hill of Constantinople and overlooks the Sea of Marmara, is not certain. The tradition says that in year 325 Helena, the mother of Constantine I, coming back from Jerusalem with the True Cross and entering the City through the Port tou Psomatheou, left in this place some vases ("Gastria") containing aromatic herbs collected on Calvary. Then she founded there a nunnery. In reality, no monastery was established in Constantinople before the last quarter of the fourth century, so this has to be considered only a legend.
...
Wikipedia