the city before him, while he humbly followed on foot as far as
the Studion. But the glory of the days of old had departed, and no
sooner did the troops of Sultan Mehemed force the Gate of Charisius
(Edirne Kapoussi) than they made for the Chora, and cut the image to
pieces. The church of S. Saviour in the Chora was the first Christian
sanctuary to fall into the hands of the Moslem masters of
Constantinople.

The building was converted into a mosque by Ali Atik Pasha, Grand
Vizier, between 1495 and 1511, in the reign of Bajazet II. Gyllius
visited the church in 1580, and expatiates upon the beauty of its marble
revetment, but makes no reference to its mosaics and frescoes.[536]
This, some authorities think, proves that these decorations were then
concealed from view, because objectionable in a place consecrated to
Moslem worship. But the silence of the traveller may be due to the
brevity of his description of the church.

There is evidence that the building has suffered much since the Turkish
conquest from earthquake and from fire, but the precise dates of these
disasters cannot be accurately determined. The mosque disappeared from
general view until 1860, when it was discovered by a Greek architect,
the late Pelopidas D. Kouppas. Mr. Carlton Cumberbatch, then the British
Consul at Constantinople, was informed of the fact and spread the news
of the fortunate find.

The building was in a pitiful condition. The principal dome and the
dome of the diaconicon had fallen in; the walls and vaults were cracked
in many places and black with smoke; wind, and rain, and snow had long
had free course to do what mischief they pleased. Happily there still
remained too much beauty to be ignored, and the Government was persuaded
to take the work of restoration in hand. The building now takes rank
with the most interesting sights of the capital, presenting one of the
finest embodiments of the ideal which inspired Byzantine art.

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.
S. SAVIOUR IN THE CHORA. THE INTERIOR, LOOKING NORTH-WEST.]

[Illustration: S. SAVIOUR IN THE CHORA. THE OUTER NARTHEX, LOOKING
SOUTH.
_To face page 304._]

_Architectural Features_

As the history of the church prepares us to expect, the building
presents a very irregular plan. The central area is a short-armed Greek
cross surmounted by a dome, and terminating to the east in a large apse
flanked by side chapels now disconnected from it. To the west are two
narthe