layers of Miocene limestone on top of which the city was built. Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God The Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, which also served as the cathedral church, was built sometimes in the 12th century, during the restored Byzantine rule. The church contained a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. It is recorded that the Byzantine princess and Serbian queen Simonida worshiped the icon in 1315 when she visited Belgrade. The structure itself was a large, three-nave church with a large dome. As Belgrade was generally neglected in the second half of the 14th century, the church also deteriorated a lot. When the Hungarians handed over the city to Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević, he began massive reconstruction of the fortress, including the church, which was restored and expanded. Chronicler Constantine the Philosopher described the church, including the famed icon of the Mother of God, relics of Saint Petka and Saint Empress Theophano (relocated to Belgrade after the fall of Bulgaria to the Ottomans), icons of the Twelve apostles (six on both sides), and the reliquary containing a hand. Despot added the choirs and the monastery complex around it. The church became the seat of the Metropolitan of Belgrade, this time of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and he was proclaimed the "exarch of all Serbian lands". Over two decades later, when Belgrade was returned to the Hungarians, the building of the Metropolitan's Seat was built next to it. On the very day the Ottomans conquered Belgrade, 29 August 1521, they turned the church into the mosque. The cross was removed from the top of the roof, the icons were painted over and the church bells were remelted. Already tomorrow, Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent observed the main Islamic Friday prayer, the jumu'ah namaz, in the former church. When Suleiman resettled Belgrade Christians to Constantinople, they took with them the icon of the Mother of God and relics of Saint Petka and Saint Theophano. Part of them were settled in the Istanbul's neighborhood today known as Belgradkapı, or Belgrade Gate, where they built the Church of Theotokos, and presumably kept the icons and relics. Interiors and all the relics in this church were destroyed during the 1955 Istanbul pogrom. Close to the church, the Ottomans dug into the ground a large gunpowder magazine. During the Austrian attack