Today I visited the church cum mosque cum museum St. Savior in Chora. The building itself dates from the 11th century but what makes it worth visiting are the spectacular mosaics and frescoes that were added to the church between 1315 and 1321. The church's art was somewhat ironically preserved when, during its conversion into a mosque, it was covered with plaster. In 1948, the mosque was de-sanctified and restoration revealed the building's hidden secrets.
The mosaics are extensive, covering much of the church's domes and walls. Even in their now damaged state, they are absolutely breathtaking.
The southern side chapel is decorated primarily in frescoes. The naturalism and emotion displayed by the figures is far ahead of the art work that was being produced in most of western Europe at the time.
This relatively inconspicuous fresco may be one of the most interesting pieces in the church. Though most of the art in the church is dedicated to the life and genealogy of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, this fresco depicts David the Dendrite. A hermit from Thessolonika who spent 3 years perched in a tree, he was known to give sound advice to petitioners. He only left his tree retreat in order to travel to Constantinople and petition Emperor Justinian to send soldiers to defend his home town.
Turkey was prominently featured in the New York Times today in an article about the increasing number of Syrian refugees fleeing into the country. Right now, Turkey's boarder with Syria is fairly relaxed and people can easily cross both legally and illegally. However, if the situation in continues to Syria escalate, I suspect Turkey will have to tighten up security to prevent cross-boarder raids and/or an uncontrolled flow of Syrian refugees.
And now, a sokak kedi with ridiculous eye-whiskers relaxes in the garden of St. Savior in Chora.
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