The images reflected from the ‘Hagia Irene Church Museum’, which was built as the first church during the Byzantine period and is considered one of Istanbul’s unique cultural heritages, are heartbreaking. While the ground covered in bird droppings awaits cleaning, the damage and dirt in certain parts of the structure do not go unnoticed. Hagia Irene Church Museum is considered the only church with an ‘Atrium’ that has survived from the Byzantine period to the present day. The Atrium is known as a courtyard with a portico in the middle of old Roman temples. The structure, which burned and was repaired 3 times during the Byzantine period, is also the first museum during the Ottoman period.
MUST BE RESTORED
After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, no significant changes were made to the structure since the church was not converted into a mosque, and the building, which was used as a loot and weapon depot for a long time, was transferred first to the Hagia Sophia Museum Directorate and finally to the National Palaces. In the past, concerts and shows were held there. Stating that Hagia Irene is an older work than Hagia Sophia, the architect said,
Architectural Restoration Expert, President of the Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Serhat Şahin “When we see the deplorable state of Hagia Irene, which is the oldest known Byzantine church in Istanbul with a history of 1700 years and the only one that has not been converted into a mosque, we need to put emergency action plans into action as soon as possible with the cooperation of our National Palaces Directorate and the relevant Preservation Board,” he said.
IT IS A SHAME FOR TOURISTS
Şahin continued his warnings as follows: “Unfortunately, we encounter such problems very often in our historical structures. It seems inevitable that our relevant state institutions cooperate with NGOs that are sensitive to the issue and are truly specialized in this matter. The pigeons that find a living space inside the monumental structure leave feces on the net stretched and on the ground of the structure and It is really a shame that our local and foreign visitors are shown around the building like this, with its abandoned scaffolding in the middle and its appearance as a construction site.”
MUST BE TAKEN INTO CONTROL
Underlining that pigeon droppings cause the most damage to historical buildings, Şahin said; “The idea that this structure of universal value can be toured for a fee of 1,500 TL during the day and 5,000 TL in the evening is also something that should be seriously considered. “Why are these maintenances not carried out with the income obtained? As a result, we have full faith that all these findings that we have revealed by photographing and that should be seriously considered together will be handled with sensitivity and urgency,” he said.
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