Kefeli Mosque

Kefeli Mosque
Kefeli Câmîi
Kefeli Mosque; Kefeli Câmîi
Year consecrated	Between 1623 and 1640
Location
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
	Location in the Fatih district of Istanbul
Geographic coordinates	41°1′46″N 28°56′30″E / 41.02944°N 28.94167°E
Architecture
Type	church
Style	Byzantine
Completed	Between 13th and 15th century
Specifications
Minaret(s)	1
Materials	brick, stone

The Kefeli Mosque (

Roman Catholics and Armenians, and finally converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The Catholic Church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Its date of dedication as an Eastern Orthodox church is unknown, but it is commonly identified with the 9th-century Monastery of Manuel (Greek

: Μονὴ τοῦ Μανουήλ).

The interest of Kefeli Mosque arises because it repurposes the early Christian basilica form during the later Byzantine period.^[1]

Location

The building lies in

Fethiye

.

History

The origin of this building, which lies on the slope of the sixth hill of

Theodora, wife of Theophilos, and before retiring to his monastery he was one of the three counselors who assisted her in the regency for her infant son Michael III

, following the death of her husband.

The Monastery of Manuel was rebuilt by Patriarch

Michael VII (r. 1071–1078) retired here after his deposition.^[3] All these events show the importance of this monastery in Constantinople. Nevertheless, the attribution of this building to the complex founded by Manuel is far from certain, and has been denied by the newest research.^[1]

The documented history of the current edifice begins in 1475, shortly after the

Balat.^[4]

Architecture

The building is a large hall, 22.6 meter long by 7.22 wide,^[5] and is oriented in north–south direction, which is quite uncommon among the Byzantine churches in Constantinople. Its masonry consists of alternate courses of bricks and stones. The original building had a triple-nave plan, but the only remains of the side aisles belong to the end wall of the western one.^[1] To the north side there is an arch and a semicircular apse made of bricks, which outside has a polygonal shape. The walls of the apse are indented by two niches. The main aisle has walls which are lighted by two ranges of windows, which are irregularly spaced. The southern wall is also lighted by two ranges of windows. The lower windows are much larger than the higher. The entrance is situated in the middle of the western wall. Under the western side there is a cistern, whose roof rests on three columns.^[5]

The dating of the edifice is uncertain. The polygonal apse and the niches in the apse are typical of the churches of Palaiologan foundation.^[1] The building is architecturally interesting because it is an example of reproposition of the early Christian Basilica form during the later Byzantine period.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Mathews (1976), p. 190.
^ Van Millingen (1912), p. 254.
^ Van Millingen (1912), p. 257
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Müller-Wiener (1977), 166
^ ^a ^b Van Millingen (1912), p. 258.

Location

History

Architecture

References

Further reading