Agia Paraskevi Church (), () is a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

church in

Büyükdere, Sarıyer Büyükdere is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Sarıyer, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 8,586 (2022). It is situated on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait about southwest of Sarıyer. Its name means 'bi ...

in northern

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey.

Hşstory

Located in the Büyükdere quarter of

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

district in

, Turkey, the church's existence dates back to the early 17th century. Today's masonry structure was buil in 1830t on the place of the wooden building, which was destroyed by a fire. The church's property belongs to Büyükdere Aya Paraskevi Church Foundation.

Architecture

The church building is situated in a paved courtyard surrounded by a high wall. The courtyard has two gates opening to different streets. Jnside the courtyard, there are a clergy house, administrative buildings and a cemetery with trees in addition to the church building. A

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

(hagiasma) at a depth of depth and a deep well with metallic cover are also found in the courtyard. There is no inscription with the date of church's construction. However, the date "1830" is situated under the depiction in the small niche inside the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

During restıration works in December 2013, the date "1830" with a cross was discovered on a façade stone under the eaves. Thereis no informatipn about the architect of the building. The church has a basilica-plane in rectangular form in the east–west direction. It consists of narthex, naos, gallery, bema and apsis. A half-round apse protrudes on the axis. The entrance of the building used today is on the south side. The naos has the dimension . The building is constructed from ashlar and brick. The walls are thick except the eastern wall, which has a thickness of . The brick walls of the narthex is in average thick. . Every part of the western façade except the narthex at the lower level is plastered and painted, and the facade of the narthex is covered with brick. The north and south façades have three arched windows and a horizontal window each. A wooden door is on the narthex walls. The narthexfloor is paved with -sized tiles of plant motifs. The floor of the naos is marble and it is at the level of the middle nave. The gallery floor is constructed with wide wooden

parquet Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring. Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , url=https://kulturenvanteri.com/tr/yer/ayia-paraskevi-kilisesi-buyukdere/#17.1/41.161901/29.045474 , publisher=Kültür Envanteri , title=Ayia Paraskevi Rum Ortodoks Kilisesi, Büyükdere, author=Cangül, Caner , author2=Ahmet Yurtbakan , language=tr , accessdate=29 January 2024 {{cite web , url=https://eski.imo.org.tr/resimler/ekutuphane/pdf/17498_56_08.pdf , publisher=İstanbul Mimarlar Odası , title=Büyükdere Aya Paraskevi Kilisesi İçin Bir Koruma Önerisi , author=Sönmez, Ece , author2=Deniz Mazlum , language=tr , accessdate=29 January 2024 Greek Orthodox churches in Istanbul 1830 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Sarıyer