# Odalar Mosque

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{{Short description|Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Odalar mosque
| native_name         = {{lang|tr|Odalar Câmîi}}
| native_name_lang    = TR
| former_names        = Santa Maria di Costantinopoli
| alternate_names     = 
| status              = Destroyed
| image               = Odalar1920 1.jpg
| image_alt           = 
| caption             = The Mosque seen from East with [Kariye Mosque](/source/Chora_Church) in the background after the fire of 1919
| image_upright       = 1.2
| pushpin_map         = Istanbul Fatih
| pushpin_mapsize     = 
| map_caption         = Location in the Fatih district of Istanbul
| altitude            = 
| building_type       = Church
| architectural_style = [Middle Byzantine - Comnenian](/source/Byzantine_architecture)
| structural_system   = [Cross-in-square](/source/Cross-in-square)
| cost                = 
| ren_cost            = 
| client              = 
| owner               = 
| current_tenants     = 
| landlord            = 
| location            = 
| address             = Müftu Sokaĝi 20-22
| location_town       = [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul)
| location_country    = Turkey
| coordinates         = {{coord|41.029071|N|28.939828|E|display=inline}}
| groundbreaking_date = 
| construction_start_date = 
| completion_date     = 
| opened_date         = 
| inauguration_date   = 
| renovation_date     = 
| demolished_date     = 
| destruction_date    = July 2nd, 1919
| height              = 
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}}
{{Coord|41.029071|N|28.939828|E|display=title}}
The '''Odalar Mosque''' ({{langx|tr|Odalar Câmîi}}, meaning "the mosque of the barracks" after the nearby accommodations of the married [Janissaries](/source/Janissary) established in this quarter in the 18th century. Also: ''Kemankeş Mustafa Paşa Câmîi'') was an [Ottoman](/source/Ottoman_Empire) [mosque](/source/mosque) in [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul).<ref name=mw188>Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 188.</ref> The building was originally a [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine)-era [Eastern Orthodox](/source/Eastern_Orthodox) church of unknown dedication.<ref name=mw188/> In 1475, after the [Fall of Constantinople](/source/Fall_of_Constantinople) (1453), it became a [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) church, dedicated to '''[Saint Mary](/source/Saint_Mary) of [Constantinople](/source/Constantinople)''', until finally it was converted into a mosque by the [Ottomans](/source/Ottoman_Empire) in 1640.<ref name=mw188/> The mosque was destroyed by fire in 1919, and since then has fallen into ruin.<ref name=mw188/> As of 2011, only some walls remain, hidden among modern buildings.

==Location==
The ruins of the building lie in [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul), in the district of [Fatih](/source/Fatih), in the neighborhood of Salmatomruk, not far from Edirne Kapı (the ancient [Gate of Charisius](/source/Walls_of_Constantinople)), more or less halfway between the [Chora Church](/source/Chora_Church) and the [Fethiye Mosque](/source/Fethiye_Mosque_(Istanbul)).<ref name=we1>Westphalen (1998), p. 1.</ref> The few remains lie in a courtyard and can be accessed through modern blocks built on ''Müftu Sokaĝi 20-22''.<ref name=we1/>

==History==
===Byzantine Age===

Between the ninth and the tenth century<ref name=we40>Westphalen (1998) p.40</ref> a church with an underlying basement and a [crypt](/source/crypt) was erected on the top of the sixth hill of [Constantinople](/source/Constantinople), on a plateau which is limited by the open air [cistern of Aetius](/source/cistern_of_Aetius) (now [a football field](/source/Vefa_Stadium)) and by the unidentified Byzantine edifice denominated in Ottoman times as ''[Boĝdan Saray](/source/Bogdan_Saray)''.<ref name=we1/> The dedication of this building is uncertain,<ref name=mw188/> but it was probably part of a complex which also included today's [Kasım Ağa Mosque](/source/Kas%C4%B1m_A%C4%9Fa_Mosque) and the İpek Cistern, and was almost certainly the ''[katholikon](/source/katholikon)'' of a monastery.<ref name=we1/>

The edifice has been identified for a long time as the [Theotokos](/source/Theotokos) ''en te Petra'', but without conclusive evidence.<ref name=ey72>Eyice (1955) p.72</ref>
During the Byzantine period, several monasteries lay in the area; the [Monastery of Manuel](/source/Monastery_of_Manuel), that devoted to St. John in Petra, and the [Kecharitomene nunnery](/source/Kecharitomene_nunnery) ("full of grace" or "favoured (by God)").<ref name=we1/> The latter was founded at the beginning of the 12th century by Empress [Eirene Doukaina](/source/Eirene_Doukaina), and is known above all because of its detailed and extant ''[typikon](/source/typikon)''.<ref name=ja196>Janin (1953), p. 196.</ref> The nearby church of the ''Theotokos tes Kellararias'', used by the nuns of the Kecharitomene as a burial place, and that of ''Hagios Nikolaos'', both mentioned in the ''typikon'' of the nunnery, are possible candidates for the identification.<ref name=we2>Westphalen (1998), p. 2.</ref> Moreover, the Odalar Mosque could also be identified with a nearby church dedicated to [Saints Sergius and Bacchus](/source/Saints_Sergius_and_Bacchus), which lay "near the cistern of Aetios": not to be confounded with [the homonymous church](/source/Little_Hagia_Sophia) which lies near [Hagia Sophia](/source/Hagia_Sophia)) because of the discovery in the vicinity of a [monogram](/source/monogram)med [capital](/source/Capital_(architecture)) (unfortunately found not ''[in situ](/source/In_situ)'').<ref name=ja559>Janin (1953), p. 559.</ref> Between 1150 and 1175  a new church of the [cross-in-square](/source/cross-in-square) plan was built above the old one (possibly destroyed by fire or menaced by a landslide).<ref name=mw188/><ref name=we43>Westphalen (1998) p.43</ref>

===Ottoman Age===
thumb|right|250px|The Genoese Fortress of Caffa. From here were deported the Italians which populated the Kefeli Mahalle in Istanbul

The documented history of the edifice begins in 1475, shortly after the [Fall of Constantinople](/source/Fall_of_Constantinople), when [Sultan](/source/List_of_sultans_of_the_Ottoman_Empire) [Mehmed II](/source/Mehmed_II) conquered the [Genoese](/source/Republic_of_Genoa) colony of [Caffa](/source/Caffa), in [Crimea](/source/Crimea). About 40,000 [Latin](/source/Romance-speaking_Europe), [Greek](/source/Greeks), [Armenian](/source/Armenian_People) and [Jewish](/source/Jewish) inhabitants who lived in Caffa ("Caffariotes" or, in [Turkish](/source/Turkish_language), ''Kefeli'') were then deported to Istanbul and relocated to this quarter, which was named after them ''Kefe [Mahalle](/source/Mahalle)si''.<ref name=mw188/><ref name =ma308>Mamboury 1953) p. 308</ref> The Latins, mainly [Genoese](/source/Genoa), were authorized to use in their quarter as churches the building and, together with the Armenians, another edifice known later as [Kefeli Mosque](/source/Kefeli_Mosque), which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas.<ref name=mw188/>

The edifice, dedicated then to [Saint Mary of Constantinople](/source/Saint_Mary) ({{langx|it|Santa Maria di Costantinopoli}}), was officiated by the [Dominicans](/source/Dominican_Order), which before the Ottoman conquest had also a monastery in the city on the [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea).<ref name=we48>Westphalen (1998), p. 48.</ref> Here was brought from Caffa a large [icon](/source/icon) of the [Hodegetria](/source/Hodegetria) type, which now is kept in the Dominican monastery of [SS. Peter and Paul](/source/Church_of_SS_Peter_and_Paul%2C_Istanbul) in [Galata](/source/Galata).<ref name =ma308/> Due to all that, at the beginning of the sixteenth century the church of Saint Mary had turned into the center of this quarter predominantly inhabited by Italians, but the building fell soon in disrepair.<ref name=we48/> Under Sultan [Murad IV](/source/Murad_IV) (r. 1623–1640) the decision was taken to exclude from the walled city the Christians who were not Ottoman subjects and to resettle them in [Galata](/source/Galata) and [Pera](/source/Beyo%C4%9Flu).<ref name=we49>Westphalen (1998), p. 49.</ref> As a consequence, and after riots between Christian and Muslims, the church was closed in 1636, and in 1640 it was transformed into a mosque by ''Sadrazam'' ([Grand Vizier](/source/Grand_Vizier)) [Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha](/source/Kemanke%C5%9F_Mustafa_Pasha) (d. 1644).<ref name=mw188/><ref>Gülersoy (1976) p. 249.</ref> As mentioned above, only the Hodegetria Icon could be moved with great difficulties to Galata.<ref name =ma308/>

After the relocation of the married [Janissaries](/source/Janissaries) in the quarter in 1782, the mosque got the appellation of ''Odalar'' (In [Turkish](/source/Turkish_language) "''Oda''" means "room" but also "barrack of the Janissaries"). Previously these were lodged at the ''Eski Odalar'' ("Old Barracks") near [Şehzade Mosque](/source/%C5%9Eehzade_Mosque), which were destroyed in the fire of 1782.<ref name=we1/> The building decayed steadily (by the mid-19th century the dome had collapsed), and it was heavily damaged by the fire of Salmatomruk on 2 July 1919. When the quarter was rebuilt with modern criteria the edifice was not restored, and fell into ruin.<ref name=we52 />

==Architecture==
As mentioned above, several constructive phases can be recognized in the building during the Byzantine period. The first church, erected in the middle Byzantine age, had an almost square plan (about 11.65 m x 10 m ) with three apses, and was oriented toward the East.<ref name=mw188/>  In 1935, only the tripartite sanctuary and the ''[Bema](/source/Bema)'' were still visible.<ref name=we37>Westphalen (1998) p. 37</ref> The church was built on a basement composed of 24 vaulted rooms and a vaulted [crypt](/source/crypt) with an apse, which is supposed to have been a chapel containing [relics](/source/relics).<ref name=we24>Westphalen (1998) p. 24</ref>  These rooms had at first a profane usage, later they were used as burial place<ref name=ey72/> and finally as a cistern.<ref name=we47>Westphalen (1998) p. 47</ref>

The second church, erected at the end of the twelfth century, used also 16 small rooms of the abandoned first church's basement as substructure. The [masonry](/source/masonry) was made of stone and bricks, and was erected with the technique of the ''recessed brick'',<ref name=ma308/><ref name=ja560>Janin (1953), p. 560.</ref><ref name=we53>Westphalen (1998) p. 53</ref><ref name=we78>Westphalen (1998) p. 78</ref>  typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle period.<ref>Krautheimer (1986), p. 400. Another example of edifices of Constantinople where this technique was used is the mosque of [Eski Imaret](/source/Eski_Imaret_Mosque)</ref> In this technique, alternate courses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a [mortar](/source/Mortar_(masonry))'s bed. Due to that, the thickness of the mortar layers is about three times greater than that of the bricks layers. In this building, three or four rows of bricks alternate with single rows of stones,<ref name=we53/> and the bricks are arranged to form several patterns.<ref name=we78/>

The second church was of the [cross-in-square](/source/cross-in-square) type with an almost square ''[naos](/source/Cella)'' about 10.5 m wide: it had four columns sustaining the dome through [pendentives](/source/pendentives), three [apse](/source/apse)s - the central one having a polygonal shape -<ref name=mw188/> and a [narthex](/source/narthex) embracing the edifice on the west and north sides.<ref name=we52>Westphalen (1998) p. 52</ref><ref name=ja560/> The dome was about 4.4. m wide, lay on a [drum](/source/Tholobate) and was adorned with frescoes.<ref name=we52/> East of the ''naos'' lay a tripartite sanctuary composed of a ''bema'' flanked by a ''[prothesis](/source/prothesis_(altar))'' and a ''[diakonikon](/source/diaconicon)''.<ref name=we60>Westphalen (1998) p. 60</ref> The floor of the new church was 3.3 m above that of the first church.<ref name=mw188/>  The edifice can be described as a middle-sized Byzantine church, similar to the nearby [Church of Christ Pantepoptes](/source/Eski_Imaret_Mosque).<ref name=we67>Westphalen (1998) p. 67</ref>

From a relation of Pietro Demarchis, bishop of [Santorini](/source/Santorini), who visited Istanbul in 1622, we know that at that time the columns of the church had been taken away by the Turks and substituted with wooden pillars, and that the dome was covered with frescoes.<ref name=we48/> Moreover, part of the building was already menacing ruin.<ref name=we48/> Just after the conversion to mosque, to the building were added a [mihrab](/source/mihrab), a [minbar](/source/minbar) and a [minaret](/source/minaret). After the fire of 1919, the building fell into ruin (the roof collapsed and the minaret crashed already in the 1820s), but luckily it was thoroughly studied and surveyed by the German Archaeologist Paul Schatzmann in 1934/1935.<ref name=we5>Westphalen (1998), p. 5.</ref>
According to the Greek scholar Alexandros G. Paspates, in the East part of the basement of the Mosque sprung a [water source](/source/Holy_water_in_Eastern_Christianity) ({{langx|el|αγίασμα}}, {{lang|el-latn|hagíasma}}, {{langx|tr|ayazma}}) dedicated to [Saint John the Baptist](/source/Saint_John_the_Baptist), abandoned for a long time.<ref name=ma308/>

==Paintings==

During the excavation of 1934/1935 up to four [mortar](/source/Mortar_(masonry)) layers covered with frescoes on blue background were uncovered.<ref name=ey72/><ref name=ma308/> A [fresco](/source/fresco) representing a [Madonna](/source/Madonna_(art)) on Throne with angels was found in the crypt.<ref name=ja560/> In the basement rooms were found fragments of paintings having as subject funerary themes.<ref name=we85>Westphalen (1998) p. 85</ref> In the inferior church were discovered two [deesis](/source/deesis), a fresco representing [the soldier Saint Mercurius](/source/Saint_Mercurius)  - of unparalleled technique among the known Byzantine works of this age - and prophets.<ref name=ja560/> These paintings were executed either in the tenth or in the middle of the eleventh century, belonging so to the first church. The diakonikon of the second church was adorned with frescoes showing saints and episodes of the [Life of the Virgin](/source/Life_of_the_Virgin).<ref name=ja560/><ref name=we85/> The best preserved frescoes (among them Saint Mercurius) were detached, restored and are on display at the [Archaeological Museum of Istanbul](/source/Istanbul_Archaeology_Museum).<ref name=ma308/>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book
 | last=Janin
 | first= Raymond
 | author-link=Raymond Janin
 | title=La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères
 | publisher=Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines
 | location=Paris
 | language=French
 | year=1953
}}
*{{cite book
 | last=Mamboury, Ernest
 | author-link=Ernest Mamboury
 | title=The Tourists' Istanbul
 | publisher=Çituri Biraderler Basımevi
 | location=Istanbul
 | year=1953
}}
*{{cite book
 | last=Eyice
 | first= Semavi
 | author-link=Semavi Eyice
 | title=Istanbul. Petite Guide a travers les Monuments Byzantins et Turcs
 | publisher=Istanbul Matbaası
 | location=Istanbul
 | year=1955
 | language=French
}}
*{{cite book
 | author=Gülersoy, Çelik
 | author-link=Çelik Gülersoy
 | title=A Guide to Istanbul
 | publisher=Istanbul Kitaplığı
 | location=Istanbul
 | year=1976
 | oclc = 3849706
}}
*{{cite book
 | last=Müller-Wiener
 | first= Wolfgang
 | author-link=Wolfgang Müller-Wiener
 | title=Bildlexikon Zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul Bis Zum Beginn D. 17 Jh
 | publisher=Wasmuth
 | location=Tübingen
 | language=German
 | year=1977
 | isbn = 978-3-8030-1022-3
}}
*{{cite book
 | author=Krautheimer, Richard
 | author-link=Richard Krautheimer
 | title=Architettura paleocristiana e bizantina
 | publisher=Einaudi
 | location=Turin
 | year=1986
 | language=Italian
 | isbn = 88-06-59261-0
}}
*{{cite book
 | last=Westphalen
 | first= Stephan
 | title=Die Odalar Camii in Istanbul. Architektur und Malerei einer mittelbyzantinischen Kirche
 | publisher=Wasmuth
 | location=Tübingen
 | language=German
 | year=1998
 | isbn = 3-8030-1741-6
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Odalar Mosque}}

{{Churches and Monasteries of Constantinople}}
{{Churches-Mosques in Istanbul}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Mosques converted from Byzantine churches
Category:Fatih
Category:Holy springs of Turkey
Category:Former mosques in Turkey
Category:Mosque ruins
Category:Ruins in Turkey
Category:Byzantine church buildings in Istanbul

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Odalar Mosque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odalar_Mosque) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odalar_Mosque?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.