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Fener is a neighborhood on the southern shore of the Golden Horn in Istanbul. It’s full of charming Ottoman homes and a handful of Orthodox churches.
The part of the neighborhood nearest the Golden Horn is flat while the rest is full of steep hills. To get to some of the major highlights, you have to climb some of these hills.
Historically, after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Fener became the main Greek district of the city. This entry includes many Greek and other landmarks except for the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Ioakimion School for Girls, and the Phanar Greek Orthodox College.
Getting There
The easiest way to get to Fener is to take the T5 tram line that runs from Eminönü to Alibeyköy. You can connect to it from the T1 tram line at Eminönü or the M2 metro line at Küçükpazar (Golden Horn Metro Bridge). Fener is also accessible by bus, with the 55T from Taksim the most likely one you’ll take. For a more scenic ride, you can hop on the hourly Golden Horn ferry line that runs from Karaköy and Üsküdar.
Homes
First, while wandering through Fener there are plenty of 19th century homes to admire. Many have been restored while others are crumbling and in need of work. The homes are generally painted in bright colors and have bay windows.
Many of these homes were built by the city’s wealthiest Greeks. There are almost no Greeks left in Fener, but if you look closely on some of the houses, you can still see the mark they left on the neighborhood.
Church of St. Stephen
The Bulgarian Church of St. Stephen, on the shores of the Golden Horn, is one of the most interesting churches in Istanbul.
The Church of St. Stephen was built by the Bulgarian community of the city. In 19th century, the Bulgarians would pray at the churches under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which was dominated by Greeks. Stefan Bogoridi (1775-1859), an Ottoman Bulgarian diplomat, obtained permission from Sultan Abdülmecid I to build a Bulgarian Orthodox church. He donated his wooden house and converted it into a church. It opened on October 9, 1849, and became an important site of the Bulgarian National Revival. In fact, the Ottoman royal decree establishing the Bulgarian Exarchate was read in the church on February 28, 1870.
The wooden church burned down and the community decided to build a cast iron church in its place. Ottoman Armenian architect Hovsep Aznavur (1854-1935) designed the building and R. Ph. Waagner of Austria won a contest to produce the prefabricated cast iron parts.
The parts weighed 500 tons and were shipped from Vienna to Constantinople along the Danube River and through the Black Sea. The Church of St. Stephen took a year and a half to build and finally inaugurated on September 8, 1898.
The skeleton of the church is made of steel and covered in metal panels. The panels are attached together by nuts, bolts, rivets, and welding. It’s now one of the only surviving prefabricated cast iron churches in the world.
The Church of St. Stephen underwent a long renovation from 2011 to 2018, costing over 15,000,000₺. It reopened on January 8, 2018, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Boris present at the ceremony.
Cemetery at the Church of St. Stephen
In the church yard is a small cemetery. Among the burials is Hilarion of Makariopolis (1812-1875), an Orthodox bishop and one of the leaders of the struggle for an autonomous Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Metoha Building
Across the street from the Church of St. Stephen is the Metoha Building. The three story stone structure was built in 1850 and contains 25 rooms. It was used as a publishing house for over 20 Bulgarian newspapers and magazines. It also served as the first Bulgarian school in the city beginning in 1857. The Bulgarian Theological Seminary used the building when it moved to Constantinople from Edirne in 1892. The building was restored and opened as a museum of Bulgarian history in Istanbul on May 24, 2016.
Maraşlı Greek Primary School
A block south of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the Maraşlı Greek Primary School (Özel Maraşlı Rum İlköğretim Okulu). It was founded by Grigorios Maraslis (1831-1907), a Greek philanthropist from the Russian Empire and long-time mayor of Odessa. The school opened in 1901 but Maraslis wasn’t happy with the architecture so he stopped funding it. The Ecumenical Patriarchate took over management of the school shortly after, donating income from trays passed during Sunday services to keep it afloat. There are no students today and it’s occupied by the caretaker.
St. Paraskevi Holy Spring
If you’re walking up to the Phanar Greek Orthodox College, there’s a holy water spring on Baki Dede Street. It’s called the St. Paraskevi Holy Spring (Ayıya Paraskevi Ayazması). It’s nothing special.
The Water Diviner House
At the top of Merdivenli Mektep Street is the house used by Russell Crowe’s character in The Water Diviner. It’s not the best shot I could get because the owner was giving me dirty looks from the window on the upper floor.
Church of St. Mary of the Mongols
Behind the walls across from the house is the Ioakimion School for Girls, and a bit further along is the Church of St. Mary of the Mongols (Παναγία Μουχλιώτισσα). It’s the only Byzantine church to remain in the hands of the Orthodox community after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. In fact, the last resistance of the Greeks against the invading Ottomans took place near the church, earning it the nickname Bloody Church (Kanlı Kilise).
The church was founded in the 7th century by a daughter of Byzantine Emperor Maurice. It was dedicated to Saint Eustolia. In 1281, the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Michael VIII, Maria Palaiologina, returned to Constantinople after being away for 15 years. She was married to Abaqa, Khan of the Mongols. Maria rebuilt the church, retired, and died there, and the church has been known as St. Mary of the Mongols ever since.
Inside the church are firmans from Mehmed the Conqueror and Bayezid II protecting it from conversion to a mosque. It’s usually closed to the public, but if you ring the bell, the caretaker may let you in. I’ve been inside once but didn’t take any photos.
Church of St. George Potiras Antifonitis
Following the winding streets behind the Church of St. Mary of the Mongols leads to the Church of St. George Potiras Antifonitis (Ἅγιος Γεώργιος Ἀντιφωνητὴς). It was built in 1830 and restored in 1998 although the church may date back to at least 1648. Unfortunately, there was no answer when we rang the bell.
Metrology Church
Behind high walls on Vodina Street is the Metrology Church (Metochion of the Holy Sepulchre / Aya Yorgi Metakhion Kilisesi). It belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and has no local community. It only opens for services once a year on April 23.
Metrology Church once contained the works of ancient Greek physicist and mathematician Archimedes, now known as the Archimedes Palimpsest. Around 950, a scribe in Constantinople copied Archimedes’ original scrolls onto parchment. They were taken to Jerusalem sometime after the Latin Sack of Constantinople in 1204.
In 1229, a priest in Jerusalem named Johannes Myronas was looking for spare parchment to reuse. He erased and overwrote the works with a prayer book. They were kept at the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas (Mar Saba) through at least the 16th century and eventually found their way back to Constantinople sometime before 1840.
The parchments were rediscovered at the Metrology Church in 1906 by Danish historian Johan Heiberg, the world’s foremost expert on Archimedes at the time. Sometime in the 1920s, they were stolen from the church library and smuggled out of the country. They were allegedly purchased by Marie Louis Sirieix, a French businessman and traveler, who stored them in his cellar.
The parchments reappeared in 1998 and were sold for US$2 million at a Christie’s auction in New York. They’re currently stored at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Church of the Virgin Paramythia
Around the block on Çimen Street are the ruins of the Church of the Virgin Paramythia, which served as the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from 1587 to 1597. Among the church’s congregation were the aristocratic Cantacouzinos, Soutzos, and Ghikas families. It burned down three times, in 1640, 1729, and again at the end of the 18th century. The church was rebuilt in the mid-19th century and completely destroyed by fire again in 1970. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo.
Barba Vasilis
Barba Vasilis is a Greek taverna in Fener, just a block from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. We arranged a lunch there for a group of 23 and enjoyed both the service and food. Our group also loved the chance to write their names on the wall.
For lunch, we had several meze dishes including grilled octopus followed by a choice of chicken, beef, or fish as a main course. Dessert was a type of halva with ice cream.
Faro Caffé
Also in Fener, a few steps from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is Faro Caffé. They offer a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a good variety of both international and Turkish food.
We stopped in for coffee and gözleme and were satisfied with the quality, price, and friendly service. Sitting in the outdoor terrace is enjoyable.
