Dean Christakos« Wanderings in Istanbul | Main | Today in Interesting Numbers »
April 8, 2006
Visit to Fener and a night out with the Greeks
It was hard to get a good picture of this church, but Friday night I attended services at St. Mary of the Mongols, a Greek Orthodox (or "Rum Ortodoks", as it's known in Turkey) Church in the Fener district of Istanbul:
Of all of the churches in this city built during the time it was the capital of the Roman Empire until 1453, this is the only one that is still in use as an Orthodox Church. The only one. While there are many other Orthodox Churches in the city, they were all built after the Turkish capture of the city. The rest were either turned into mosques, destroyed, or ultimately converted into museums. One or two are reputed to have been granted to other religious groups. It breaks your heart.
More details and pictures after the jump.
The Fener district was once the area in which many of the Greeks lived, as it was close to the Ecumenical Patriarch's residence. It became home to many rich and successful Greek scholars and businessmen. Walking around the area, is is home to many poor immigrants from Anatolia. You can still see the remains of formerly-beautiful homes and buildings:
Walking around, I saw many women dressed in full-body Chadors and men in traditional Islamic garb.
Next to the church is a 19th-century Greek primary and secondary school which is still use, attended by local Greeks from Istanbul and Greeks from Greece:
At services, the students from the school served as chanters while a bishop from Halki (the now-closed Orthodox theological school) visited:
Afterwards, many of the members of the local parish went to a Lenten dinner celebration, which I attended along with a French student working on research into the local Greek ("Romii") cemetaries:
Many of the members of the church have children who have all left to live and work in Greece. Leaving wasn't necessarily voluntary.
Posted by Dean at April 8, 2006 3:35 AM