small church depended on the near Catholic Church of Saint Mary, which later became the Odalar Mosque. In 1630, under the reign of Murad IV (1623–1640), the church was converted into a mescit (a small mosque) by Great Vizier Receb Pasha, but retained the denomination, being first known as Kefe Mahalle, then as Kefeli Mescidi. In exchange, the Armenians got a Greek church in Balat. Architecture The building is a large hall, 22.6 meter long by 7.22 wide, and is oriented in north–south direction, which is quite uncommon among the Byzantine churches in Constantinople. Its masonry consists of alternate courses of bricks and stones. The original building had a triple-nave plan, but the only remains of the side aisles belong to the end wall of the western one. To the north side there is an arch and a semicircular apse made of bricks, which outside has a polygonal shape. The walls of the apse are indented by two niches. The main aisle has walls which are lighted by two ranges of windows, which are irregularly spaced. The southern wall is also lighted by two ranges of windows. The lower windows are much larger than the higher. The entrance is situated in the middle of the western wall. Under the western side there is a cistern, whose roof rests on three columns. The dating of the edifice is uncertain. The polygonal apse and the niches in the apse are typical of the churches of Palaiologan foundation. The building is architecturally interesting because it is an example of reproposition of the early Christian Basilica form during the later Byzantine period. References Further reading Byzantine sacred architecture Fatih