On June 28, 1996, we visited the second largest religious edifice built by the Byzantines in Istanbul behind Hagia Sophia. Originally known as Theotokos Pantokrator, and later renamed Molla Zeyrek Camii after the Ottoman conquest and fall of Constantinople in 1453, this building is a great example of medieval Byzantine architecture. It was first built by Princess Eirene of the Komnena dynasty. Her husband built another church to the north. There is a funerary chapel in between the two churches that became the imperial mausoleum.

The structure is raised on cylindrical drums with window perforations. Bands of brick masonry, particularly around the arches and niches, give the exterior some articulation and color that is distinctive of Byzantine architecture. The recessed brick technique was used and is typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle period.

Natural light is used very well here. The light gave us good sight to the elaborate frescoes and floor decoration in opus sectile (marble cut into shape). The minbar inside is maybe built from spolia taken from this church itself or it may have been taken from other churches.