Chora Church (Kariye Mosque) Photos and Interior Views

What you see in these photos

The gallery follows the route you walk on a visit. The pictures start in the outer narthex, move through the inner narthex, and end in the parekklesion, the side chapel. Each caption names the room and the scene.

The building is small. Its interior is a chain of narrow, vaulted spaces, and almost every curved surface carries an image. Mosaic fills the two narthexes. Fresco fills the side chapel (source). That split gives you two very different subjects for a camera: reflective gold in one half, matte painted plaster in the other.

What to photograph, room by room

• Outer narthex. Point the camera up. The story of Christ's infancy runs through the lunettes, and his miracles fill the shallow vaults overhead (source). The bust of Christ over the inner door makes a strong first frame.
• Inner narthex. Two domes hold Christ and the Virgin at the centre, with their ancestors standing between the ribs. Shoot straight up from the middle of the floor. Then turn to the donor panel over the door to the naos, where Theodore Metochites kneels and offers a model of the church.
• Deesis. The tall panel of Christ and the Virgin on the inner narthex wall rewards a slow look. Two small kneeling figures at the bottom are easy to miss in a wide shot.
• Parekklesion. Start with the Anastasis in the apse. Step back to take in the Last Judgment across the vault in front of it, then the dome of the Virgin ringed by angels (source).
• Details. Faces, hands, folds of cloth and the marble panelling repay a longer lens or a careful crop.

Our mosaics and frescoes guide explains each scene, so you know what you are framing.

Working with the light

Flash is not allowed, so daylight and the building's own lamps are all you have. A few habits help.

1. Hold the camera steady against your body and let the exposure run a little longer. Ask staff before you set up a tripod; the rules exclude extra equipment.
2. Move rather than zoom. Gold tesserae are set at slight angles, and a mosaic that looks flat from one spot lights up from another a step to the side.
3. Shoot the vaults from directly below to keep the figures from stretching.
4. Come early in the visiting day if you want fewer people in the frame. Tourist hours are 09:00–18:00; see opening hours for the prayer pauses.

We have not found a published study of the light by hour inside the building, so we do not promise a best time. The advice above is practical, not measured.

Photography rules

The official visitor rules are short. Flash photography, supplemental lighting and similar equipment are not permitted, because the artworks are sensitive to light and people come here to pray (source).

The rest is courtesy in a working mosque. Do not photograph people at prayer. Keep your voice down, and step aside when someone needs to pass. Dress rules apply to everyone with a camera too: Shoulders and legs covered; headscarf for women inside the prayer hall.

Plan the visit

Book entry on the tickets page, and check how to get there for the tram to Edirnekapı. If you want exterior shots of the land walls and the old houses of Balat on the same day, our nearby sights page has a walking route.