İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic- and fresco-laden church. Nestled in the shadow of Theodosius II's monumental land walls and now a museum overseen by the Aya Sofya curators, it receives a fraction of the visitor numbers that its big sister attracts but offers an equally fascinating insight into Byzantine art. Parts of the museum were closed for renovation as of 2015; check the website for more information.
The building was originally known as the Church of the Holy Saviour Outside the Walls (Chora literally means 'country'), reflecting the fact that when it was first built it was located outside the original city walls built by Constantine the Great.
What you see today isn't the original church. Instead, it was reconstructed at least five times, most significantly in the 11th, 12th and 14th centuries. Virtually all of the interior decoration – the famous mosaics and the less renowned but equally striking frescoes – dates from 1312 and was funded by Theodore Metochites, a poet and man of letters who was logothetes, the official responsible for the Byzantine treasury, under Emperor Andronikos II (r 1282–1328). One of the museum's most wonderful mosaics, found above the door to the nave in the inner narthex, depicts Theodore offering the church to Christ.
Today the Chora consists of five main architectural units: the nave, the two-storied structure (annex) added to the north, the inner and the outer narthexes and the chapel for tombs (parecclesion) to the south. In 2013 a major restoration of the church commenced. This will be undertaken in stages, involves closure of parts of the museum and is likely to take a number of years (the estimated date of completion is August 2015). At the time of research the nave and the two-storey annexes on the northern side of the building were closed for stage one of the restoration. Stage two will see the inner narthex closed and stage three the outer narthex and parecclesion. It may not be worth visiting during stage three.
Mosaics
Most of the interior is covered with mosaics depicting the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Look out for the Khalke Jesus , which shows Christ and Mary with two donors – Prince Isaac Comnenos and Melane, daughter of Mikhael Palaiologos VIII. This is under the right dome in the inner narthex. On the dome itself is a stunning depiction of Jesus and his ancestors (The Genealogy of Christ) . On the narthex's left dome is a serenely beautiful mosaic of Mary and the Baby Jesus Surrounded by Ancestors .
In the nave are three mosaics: Christ ; Mary and the Baby Jesus ; and the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin (Assumption) – turn around to see the latter, as it's over the main door you just entered. The 'infant' being held by Jesus is actually Mary's soul.
Frescoes
To the right of the nave is the parecclesion , a side chapel built to hold the tombs of the church's founder and his relatives, close friends and associates. This is decorated with frescoes that deal with the themes of death and resurrection, depicting scenes taken from the Old Testament. The striking painting in the apse known as the Anastasis shows a powerful Christ raising Adam and Eve out of their sarcophagi, with saints and kings in attendance. The gates of hell are shown under Christ's feet. Less majestic but no less beautiful are the frescoes adorning the dome, which show Mary and 12 attendant angels.
