St. Irini Museum
St. İrini Museum is located in the first courtyard of Topkapı Palace as
one of the most magnificent and greatest Byzantine churches along with
St. Sophia. St. İrini was built during the period of Emperor Justinianus
in VI. Since the church was not turned into a mosque after the conquest
of Istanbul in 1453, there were no remarkable changes in the building.
It was used as a loot from war and a storage of arms for a long time.
The first works of Damat Ahmet Fethi Pasha, one of Tophane field
marshals, were displayed here in 1846 as the first examples displayed in
a Turkish museum. In 1869 St. İrini received the name Müze-i Hümayun (Empire
Museum). In time the works displayed here were moved to the Tiled Kiosk
in 1875 due to the shortage in places of exhibition. From year 1908 Aya
İrini was used as Military Museum. Then the structure which was vacant
for a time was repaired and became a unit governed by St. Sophia Museum
Management.
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FETHIYE
BODRUM
MARMARIS
ANTALYA