Historical chapel discovered in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A chapel has been discovered underneath the courtyard of a school in Istanbul’s Bağcılar district, and an expert has claimed that it may be the only place in the world where three different structures are integrated.

Speaking about the recently discovered historical chapel, archaeologist Ömer Faruk Yavaşçay said that the structure appears as a chapel in most sources, yet on a map from the Ottoman Empire period dating back to 1912, the chapel appears as an ayazma (holy spring).

Pointing out that the people of the time used this place as a fountain, the archeologist said that some locals “mentioned the place to serve as a tunnel, and that water flowed from this tunnel.”

As no additional information was found about the place in old sources, Yavaşçay said that he visited the place himself for his research and found the structure to have the architecture of a chapel, possibly making it the only place in the world that might have operated as a fountain, a tunnel and a chapel at the same time.

It was learned that the multi-purpose structure was built by the Greeks living there in the last period of the Ottoman Empire.

Since people used to trespass on the structure before, officials have closed the entrance with iron rods, the expert noted.

“A detailed archaeological excavation needs to be carried out here. Many different parts of this structure can be found,” Yavaşçay said, urging the authorities to carry out excavations in the area.

Home to hundreds of historical landmarks left from ancient civilizations, of which some of them are yet to be discovered, several excavations are ongoing in the city of Istanbul.

Previously in early June, excavation works on the ruins of Saint Polyeuktos Church in Istanbul's Saraçhane uncovered a 1,500-year-old underground passage.