Héctor mibauldeblogs.com
Panagia Acheiropoietos
The name of the fifth century Christian basilica means "made without hands." In the twelfth century people started calling it by this name when an icon of the Virgin appeared miraculously in the church. It has a wooden roof and is one of the first churches with a three-nave basilica, about 28 m wide and 36.5 m long. Its eastern end is a barrel vault, while the west side has a narthex flanked by towers. The three naves are separated by columns, while the two side aisles have galleries above them. At the eastern end of the north aisle is a chapel dedicated to St. Irene. The present entrance is through an arch that connects the lobby to the main hall.
The south side is a monumental gateway. After the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1430, the acheiropoietos was the first church to become a mosque by order of Sultan Murad II. During Ottoman times it remained the main mosque of the city under the name of Eski Camii (Mosque Antigua). An inscription survives in the north. N 40 ° 38'6 01 "E 22 ° 56'53 .14"
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