Myrelaion Church or Bodrum Mosque Istanbul

This tiny Church of the Holy Anointing Oil located in Aksaray Laleli was built between 920 and 922 next to the palace of Emperor Romanos Lecapenus I, who ruled from 920 to 944. His wife Theophano is thought to have converted it to a monastery to which she retreated at the end of her life. It was then changed into a mosque in the 15th century by Mesih Ali Pasa, who was a descendent of Paleologues, the man that led the Ottomans in the failed attack on Rhodes in 1479.


 
It was given the name Bodrum (Basement) Mosque because the cellar that was underneath the church had made it possible to raise it to the height of the adjacent palace. The concrete circle that marks the empty space next to the mosque is believed to be the circular design of the original building. 

Location

Bodrum Mosque is located in Laleli Fatih .