TURKISHCOURSE

We started our second day in Instanbul visiting Topkapi palace and surroundings...

Aya Irini is a Byzantine church located in the outer courtyard of Topkap? Palace. It was first constructed by Constantine the Great but it was destroyed by a fire during the Nika Revolt in 537. Emperor Justinian immediately rebuilt Hagia Eirene because together with Hagia Sophia, these two churches formed two essential religious establishments. This church is the first Byzantian Church in Istanbul and it was never converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Era.

Today, Aya Irini serves mainly as a concert hall, because of its excellent acoustics and impressive atmosphere.