Hagia Irene

Overview

In the first courtyard of Topkapı Palace, on the way to the palace gate, stands a red-brick church with a dome. Hagia Irene, the “Church of Holy Peace”, has stood beside Hagia Sophia since Byzantine times. Inside, a great cross outlined in black on gold still fills the apse, a rare survivor of the age of Iconoclasm.

It never became a mosque. Instead, for centuries the palace kept its weapons here, and today classical concerts fill it with music.

Hagia Irene, the Church That Never Became a Mosque

Hagia Irene stands in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace, a few steps from Hagia Sophia. The emperors dedicated it to the peace of God, one of three churches the emperors devoted to divine attributes, together with Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom, and Hagia Dynamis, Holy Power.

Today the building works as a museum and a concert hall.

History of Hagia Irene

The first church of Constantinople

Tradition has it that Constantine the Great built the first Hagia Irene in the 4th century, possibly on the site of an older temple. Then, in 532, the Nika revolt swept the city, and the church was badly damaged. Emperor Justinian rebuilt it, and in the atrium you can still see capitals with the monograms of Justinian and Theodora.

The arsenal of the Janissaries

After the conquest of 1453, the church found itself inside the walls of Topkapı Palace. However, instead of becoming a mosque, it became the İç Cebehane, the palace’s inner arsenal. Later, it housed weapons and trophies as a military museum, and today the Ministry of Culture and Tourism runs it as a museum. The Imperial Museum first opened here in 1869; our Istanbul Archaeology Museums tour visits its successor below the palace.

What to See at Hagia Irene

The apse and its cross

In the semidome of the apse, a mosaic cross outlined in black on a gold ground dates from about the 8th century. During Iconoclasm, when the emperors banned images of people, simple crosses like this one took their place.

The synthronon

Below the cross rise six tiers of stone benches in a semicircle, the synthronon, where the clergy once sat. It is the only Byzantine synthronon that survives in Istanbul.

The architecture

Justinian’s rebuilding kept a basilica plan at ground level but added a cross-domed plan at the gallery level, with the narthex and atrium on the west. The church still has its dome and its peaked roofs.

From Palace Arsenal to the First Museum

After the conquest, Mehmed II began to gather precious weapons and war material in the church, and later sultans kept the custom, so it became the İç Cebehane, the inner arsenal. In 1726, Ahmed III reorganized it as a museum of arms, the Dârülesliha. After the Janissary corps was abolished in 1826, most of its weapons and equipment were destroyed. Then, under Sultan Abdülmecid, Fethi Ahmed Pasha set up a new museum here, with one hall of old arms and one of antiquities. Osman Hamdi Bey moved the antiquities to the Tiled Kiosk, the beginning of today’s Istanbul Archaeology Museums, and the church was left to the old weapons, with a small Louis XV-style room for the sultan.

Music Under a Byzantine Dome

Because of its remarkable acoustics, the building now serves mainly as a concert hall. Every summer since 1980, the Istanbul International Music Festival has held many of its concerts here.

How to Visit Hagia Irene

Getting there

• In Sultanahmet: enter the first courtyard of Topkapı Palace through the Imperial Gate behind Hagia Sophia.
• By tram: get off at Sultanahmet or Gülhane and walk a few minutes.
• Combine it with Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, or see it on our Byzantine Turkey tour of 7 days.

Local tips for Hagia Irene

• We check the opening days before you go.
• Look for concerts during the summer music festival, the best way to hear its acoustics.
• We check hours and tickets on the official National Palaces site; a combined Topkapı ticket has included the church.