Churches of Istanbul |
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In Byzantine times, apart from a number of churches of various sizes there were also monasteries in the city. Some of them had been abandoned before the Ottoman conquest and these places of worship, which were in a state of ruin, were turned into mosques. Some of this work took place during the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror and some in later years. Although it is stated that there were 400 Byzantine churches and monasteries in Istanbul, it is obvious that this figure is not entirely true. It has been established that during the last years of the Empire there were 50 surviving large monasteries and churches. After the conquest the brick-built monasteries and churches were made into mosques and mesjids and in all probability the wooden ones disappeared in the course of time.
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