Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church

The Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church sits behind a high stone wall, distinguished by a heavy iron gate and a narrow, unassuming entrance that hides the interior from the street. Local residents call it the Church of the Mongols because of a fourteenth-century princess, Maria Despina, who returned here after her husband, a Mongol khan, died. She founded this sanctuary, and it remains the only Byzantine church in Istanbul that never served as a mosque, operating continuously since the thirteenth century.