Chora Church Mosaic, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

Chora Church is about 18 km west of Istanbul and what it lacks in size compared to the much larger Hagia Sophia / Aya Sofya Mosque, it makes up for with the sheer volume and quality of the Byzantine Art depicted in almost every available wall, ceiling and nave. Depicted here is the Governor of Syria on the throne at left, the tax scribes in the centre, and a pregnant Mary at right. Apparently Mary and Joseph are registering for taxation in Bethlehem, which is now part of the West Bank, Palestine / Israel. It may have been Syrian 2000 + years ago.

Here's a shot I found from keep&share.com showing the entire scene and its context. Joseph is to the right of Mary.

https://www.keepandshare.com/userpics/c/p/o/l/lari/2011-08/sb/04_img_0314-65083862.jpg?ts=1312656985

pajaran, jemaflor, pierrefonds, Fis2, ricardomattos, COSTANTINO, PaulVDV, adramad heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115989) 2022-05-06 22:13

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled, dobar tekst ...
Lep mozaik i detalji na njemu, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama i kontrastom.
Dobar rad, lepa fotografija.
Lepa scena na mozaiku.

Zelim vam sve najbolje za vikend.
Paja

Silvio1953 (221729) 2022-05-06 22:20

Ciao Chris, great view of fantastic mosaic, lsplendid sharpness, fine dettails and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

jemaflor (147224) 2022-05-06 22:57

Hi Chris,
interesting mural scene, well made and taken, good rendering for details and colors and in particular the golden tone, tfs.

holmertz (102774) 2022-05-07 0:29

Hello Chris,
I wouldn't quite agree that this is "west of Istanbul", but maybe 18 km from the Topkapı or Aya Sofya. But I remember my visit here as an interesting excursion away from the city centre. It's a fantastic church which didn't seem to receive many tourists 50 years ago. This mosaic is marvellously well kept and you captured it with amazingly good light and colours.
Best regards,
Gert

pierrefonds (114536) 2022-05-07 4:29

Bonjour Chris,

Le cadrage serré met l'oeuvre d'art en évidence. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails de la mosaïque de l'église Chora. La lumière fait ressortie les couleurs. Bonne journée.

Pierre

Fis2 (170861) 2022-05-07 4:33

Witaj Chris!
Beautiful mosaic view makes impression.
I love it, excellent presentation.
Good framing, colors and sharpness.
Well done.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

ricardomattos (17460) 2022-05-07 5:49

Hi Chris

Excelent picture of this mosaic. Very well done photo and framing. Fantastic this artwork !

Best regards

Ricardo

lousat (139332) 2022-05-07 14:33

Hi Chris, a very useful post from this church not as famous as Aghia Sophia and therefore less visited, great capture of the very well preserved mosaic with top details and very bright colors. Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

COSTANTINO (116580) 2022-05-07 21:54

Hello my dearest friend and have a nice day
and a happy evening
wow!!!fantastic view of this unique
piece of art!!!!
excellent work here and this
mosaic is marvelously well kept
you captured this one perfectly
great result from this work
I really liked this work
regards
costantino

Tue (92470) 2022-05-08 2:40

Hello Chris,
Beautiful and very clear photo of this wonderful mosaic in the church. The details and colours look fantastic.
Lars

PaulVDV (62978) 2022-05-09 11:28

Hello Chris,
Beautiful mosaic in many colours and well preserved.
Excellent presentation.
Best regards, Paul

adramad (73006) 2022-05-12 10:51

Hello Chris.
Superb this mosaic that shows such a beautiful scene, with Mary and Joseph before the ruler, the detail of the figures and the colors are incredible, it is an excellent mosaic.
A beautiful composition, with great colors, splendid light and the sharpness is excellent with fine details.
Very well done. I like it
All the best for you. Have a great day.
Luis.

mkamionka (74535) 2022-05-22 11:18

Hi Chris,
Maybe because it was away from the main city it escaped the attention of Ottomans who didn't manage to transform all Byzantine churches to mosques. Nice to see the very ancient mosaic so well preserved. You have a great collection and even in spite of all lockdowns you keep surprising us with a lot of views from all around Europe,
M

jmdias (115252) 2022-06-03 12:17

chris

curious the theme of this mosaic, I never saw this scene in any place nor heard about taxes they paid, nor the governor of syria would charge them in person. anyway the quality of this artwork is amazing. TFS. I like a lot mosaics and in some aspects I use the mosaic aspect in my canvas when painting.

take care

jorge

emka (158204) 2022-06-07 22:42

hello Chris,

It is IN Istanbul, not somewhere 18 km West. I was in this delightful churcjh-museum. The frescoes there are incredible. I had good guides there - our Turkish friends. Here fantastic scene, so sharp and in good colours. I have read that also this church should be mosque, horrifying idea.
Best regards MAlgo