Özet:

The Ioannes Prodromos Church of the Studios Monastery İmrahor İlyas Bey Mosque which is located at Yedikule, near the Golden Gate of the Theodosian Wall, is the oldest church extant in Istanbul. It was constructed in the 5th century and was in use as a monastery church through the Byzantine era. Under Ottoman rule, the church was converted into a mosque and served the muslim population in the neighborhood until early 20th century. The mosque became a museum in 1946. The church had beautiful serpentine columns; the bases, capitals and entablature was carved out of Proconnesian marble. The opus sectile floor of the naos, which was added to the church in mid-11th century, was a high quality work of its time, showing the importance of the church for the Byzantine Society. During its long life, the monument was affected by several natural and man-made disasters. The collapse of the roof which started in 1908 and ended up in 1920 led to its desertion. Being exposed to the elements, the rate of erosion accelerated. Today, the opus sectile floor of the nave is partially preserved, yet it is in relatively better condition than the marble floor of the narthex and the atrium. The floors of the north and south aisles are lost completely. In an attempt to improve the state of conservation of this invaluable piece of Medieval art, a project was initiated at Istanbul Technical University, as part of a dissertation. The current state of the opus sectile floor was documented carefully and analyzed. Historical research about the opus sectile technique helped to a better understanding of the patterns and compositions used around the Mediterranean and in England. The preliminary studies were followed by proposals for the conservation of the floor. At present, the original pattern of the opus sectile is disturbed by loss of significant pieces and random repairs. After the detailed survey of the floor, using traditional and modern techniques, a chronological analysis was attempted to determine the interventions in history. In addition to the original elements from the 11th century, repairs from the period between the 13th and the 19th centuries could be ascertained. Interventions in the 20th century presented problems because of the use of incompatible materials; a lot of cement mortar was used to cover up the missing parts of the original floor

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