Special Lecture: The Church of Stoudios in Istanbul from Cyril Mango to Urs Peschlow

Vat.gr.1613_f. 175r saec X © BAVat

Special Lecture: The Church of Stoudios in Istanbul from Cyril Mango to Urs Peschlow: Archaeology, Archives, and Modern Times

Olivier Delouis (CNRS/Maison Française d'Oxford)
Çiçek Dereli (Central European University)

The monastery of St John the Forerunner of Studios/Imrahor İlyas Bey Camii, located in the Samatya district of modern Istanbul, has played a key role in Byzantine history. Over the course of sixteen centuries, the building has accumulated and embraced all socio-cultural, religious and political layers, serving as a Roman villa, a monastery, an Islamic religious complex, an archaeological excavation area, a crossroads for researchers, travellers and enthusiasts, a ruin, a workshop, a heritage site and a monument. Its only architectural remnant is its 5th-century church, which has, however, never been the subject of a full archaeological and architectural study. Today, access to the site is restricted, awaiting its planned transformation into a mosque. 

Stoudios Narthex by Texier ca 1820 © Institut de France

The two speakers will combine two approaches to the site. On the one hand they will examine ancient sources and archaeological surveys, building on research done by the late Cyril Mango and the late Urs Peschlow in the 1970s. On the other hand, they will investigate the site as a living body, constantly changing and transforming. In so doing, they will draw a portrait of a lieu de mémoire, alternately shared, disassociated and forgotten.