(OK. This is the last post on the 2007 Istanbul trip. I really need to move on! haha)
The Kariye musuem is a former Byzantine church. The word Kariye, or "chora", means "outside the city, the countryside". The present-day building is dated to around 11th-14th Century. This musuem is worth visiting because it contains some of the best Byzantine "renaissance" masterpieces. There were numerous mosaic panels and frescoes inside this small building. They were whitewashed when the church was converted into a mosque in the early 16th Century. They were subsequently revealed and restored in the 1950s, hence the good condition. The mosaic and frescoes are so colourful and intriguing that no wonder the church had some many followers. These were probably the most beautiful things that Byzantine people will see in their entire life.
The Anastasis, depicting Christ dominant over Satan in chains and opening the tombs of Adam and Eve, is one of the most astonishing and important works of art in the whole of Europe.
The Virgin and Jesus
The south dome of the esonarthex 
St. Paul
Koimesis, the Dormition of the Virgin 
Inner narthex
Another breathtaking mosaic
Christ as “ruler of all” (Christ Pantokrator)
Enthroned Christ with Theodore Metochites presenting a model of his church
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