Vefa Kilise Mosque

The Vefa Kilise Camii in Istanbul ( German Vefa Kilise Mosque, " church mosque of Vefa ", also known as Molla Guerani Camii, in Byzantine art history usually referred to only as Kilise Camii ) is a former Orthodox church, after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 was converted by Molla Guerani into a mosque. She was formerly identified with a church dedicated to St. Theodore, however, this is completely unused. The building is considered one of the greatest examples of the Komnenos and Palaiologos architecture of Constantinople Opel.

Location

The building is located in Istanbul's Fatih, in the district of Vefa, a few hundred meters south of the Suleymaniye Mosque.

History

The history of Constantinople Opel built on a slope of the third hill, the building is not secured. Looking at the brickwork, it was built between the 11th and 12th century, during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos. That the Church Hagios Theodoros was dedicated, is unsecured. During the Latin invasion in the wake of the Fourth Crusade the building for some time was Roman Catholic.

Immediately after the fall of Constantinople, the church was converted into a mosque. As the founder of the mosque is considered the famous Kurdish Mullah Guerani Molla, who worked as a tutor Sultan Mehmed II and soon Mufti of Istanbul was. As a result, the mosque bearing his name. 1833 a fire destroyed the wooden annexes. 1937 the building underwent a partial restoration. The remaining mosaics were uncovered and cleaned, but unfortunately, in recent years, partly ( faces ) again smeared with concrete.