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Yedikule is a quiet neighborhood on the southwest corner of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey.
Introduction to Yedikule
Yedikule is named after the Yedikule Fortress, which is the main attraction in the area. It’s located between Samatya and the Theodosian Walls. On the other side of the walls is the Zeytinburnu district and the Kazlıçeşme neighborhood.
Yedikule was urbanized in the 16th century and became an important center of agriculture and industry. During the Ottoman period, there were several vegetable gardens as well as slaughterhouses, candlemakers, soap makers, and workshops. The neighborhood experienced a population boom from the 1940s to 1980s and many of the gardens and industrial areas were converted to residential areas.
Yedikule was once an important neighborhood for Istanbul’s non-Muslim citizens. Historically, the area had a high concentration of members of the Greek and Armenian communities. There’s one remaining Armenian church in Yedikule and several churches belonging to both communities in nearby Samatya.
Imrahor Mosque
The Imrahor Mosque (İmrahor Camii) is the most important landmark in Yedikule other than the fortress. It’s probably the oldest remaining Byzantine church in Istanbul, dating back to the 5th century. The mosque is on the east edge of Yedikule and belonged to Psamatheia (today’s Samatya) during the Byzantine period.
Origins as a Monastery
The Imrahor Mosque was originally founded in 463 by Roman consul Flavius Studius as the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner at Stoudios (Μονή του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Προδρόμου εν τοις Στουδίου). It became famous under St. Theodore the Studite (759-826), who developed the rules of academic and spiritual study that to this day guide the monks of Mount Athos and many other Orthodox monasteries around the world.
At its height, over 700 monks were thought to have lived at the monastery. The school of calligraphy cultivated the art of manuscript illumination and it was also a center of iconography and Byzantine religious hymns in the 8th and 11th centuries. Many of the hymns are still sung in the Orthodox church today.
In the 10th century, the relics of St. John the Baptist were brought to the Monastery of Stoudios. However, the Crusaders looted and destroyed the monastery during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 and sent the relics to Amiens, France. It was restored in 1290 by Constantine Palaiologos (1261-1306).
Post-Byzantine Period
Most of the monastery was destroyed during the Fall of Constantinople. The remaining building, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, was converted to a mosque and Sufi lodge in 1486 by İmrahorlu İlyas Bey (1408-1511), an Ottoman-Albanian military commander and governor under Sultan Bayezid II. It became an important center of calligraphy for the Ottomans just as it was for the Byzantines.
The mosque was damaged by fires in 1782 and 1920 and an earthquake in 1894. After the earthquake, Fyodor Uspensky (1845-1928) opened the Russian Archaeological Institute on the grounds and it operated until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The main prayer hall became unstable and a small mosque was built in the narthex, allowing prayer to continue until it was closed in the 1950s.
The complex has been left exposed to the elements and has been looted by locals looking for materials to repair their homes. It contains a deteriorating 13th century mosaic floor. Thankfully, restoration began in 2023 and will include the mosque as well as the wooden Sufi lodge, a burial area in the courtyard, a cistern, and a fountain. Fragments of the building are on display at the Benaki Museum in Athens and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Restoration is ongoing (as of March 2025).
Yedikule Gasworks
The Yedikule Gasworks (Yedikule Gazhanesi) is south of the fortress and was the first gasworks in the city. It was built between 1873 and 1880 to produce coal gas used to light street lamps and residences. It operated until 1993 when natural gas became more popular.
The Yedikule Gasworks was restored by the city and reopened as an arts and cultural center on June 3, 2023. It hosts concerts, exhibitions, interviews, film screenings, workshops, and other events, and also has a café. The Istanbul City Museum will eventually open there along with the Panorama Museum. Admission is free (as of March 2025) and it’s open daily except Mondays from 10am to 7pm.
Exploring Yedikule
Another great thing to do is to just wander through the neighborhood admiring the historic Ottoman homes. Some are dilapidated and in need of care while others have been nicely restored. They’re usually mixed in between ugly modern concrete constructions.
If you want to make a day of it, you can combine your exploration of Yedikule and the fortress with a walk through Samatya, where you can enjoy a delicious meal at one of the meyhanes (tavernas) on Samatya Square.
