12/9 pts 3 & 4: Chora Church & Asitane Restaurant

Chora Church Museum in Istanbul is another place where Christianity and Islam seem to be heavily entwined. As we first enter the grounds, we find a tomb for a companion of The Prophet (saws), as well as a tomb for a former tomb-tender.

a companion buried at chora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRk99lByO1o
tombs at Chora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4djJuHlvDio

Inside the church, mosaics tell stories of Jesus and Mary. I was charmed by this one, which goes back a generation to: The Birth of Mary, featuring her mother Hannah or Anne, depending on your tradition. The folds of the gown seemed particularly suggestive to me of images from older Goddess traditions.

*Ibrahim wows us with another scholarly and mystical explanation of some of the iconography inside chora*:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvuonyLqjCI

Here's a narrated clip of more mary stories http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cg9DTYWtaM

and a few more clips from chora

iconography at chora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3CzYS4eIMM

compassion and comfort in each direction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_dm_zY-wE

peacocks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi4dvzaw-uI

Then we were called to feast at an amazing Ottoman restaurant right next door, Asitane.