What I can see

The church used to be the central church of a monastery, from which only the eastern part survives. The monument has seen several renovations and additions. It is a two-storey building with blind arches, built-in half-columns on the walls, alternating volumes in its sanctuary, arched windows and ceramic decoration. It bears a similarity with the church of Agios Nikolaos Orfanos. It has a central hall with a wooden roof, whose three sides are surrounded by an ambulatory. The ambulatory has roofs at a lower level and can be found in several city churches of that period (14^th century). It is considered a unique characteristic of church architecture. From its original paintings, only few have been saved, mainly the pediments of the central space, which depict scenes of the Ascension and Pentecost.

What I can't see

The Byzantine name of the church is unknown. During the Ottoman period, residents believed that the church was dedicated to the Archangels (Taxiarches) Michael and Gabriel, just before it was converted into a mosque by the Turks. When it became a Christian church again in 1912, this was the name given to it. However, when it was converted into a mosque, its double dedication to which Christians believed was honoured, which is why the mosque’s minaret has a double balcony. This was also why it was named “Mosque with Two Balconies”. Another interesting fact is that during the Byzantine period, the ground floor of the church was used as a cemetery for the monks. The monks were buried inside the walls and their tombs were closed with marble slabs.

Info

• Address: Theotokopoulou St.

Bibliography