This is the Chora Church, or in correct political speak, the Chora Museum. You see, in 1934, Turkey's first president, Kemal Ataturk, secularized Hagia Sophia, which was being used as a mosque, turning it into a museum. ''This should be a monument for all civilization," he declared, much to the chagrin of his country’s Muslim Imams. By the same token, the Chora Church also became a museum.

How the mosaics of Chora survived the iconoclasm of the Moslem occupation, I frankly don’t know. I’m sure it must have been explained to us, but I was so thrilled to see some Christian images in this country that I missed the point on how they managed to survive. The mosaics of Chora are impressive. On the arched ceilings of the foyer or narthex of the church are depictions of various scenes in Our Lady’s life, some from scripture, others from tradition.

The annunciation takes place while Mary is drawing water from the well. The dormition of Mary is an Oriental feast devoted to Mary’s “falling asleep” which is a euphemism for her death. When Rome issued its decree on Mary’s assumption, the papal speech writers were careful to word it in such a way as not to offend the Eastern churches: “When the time came for her to pass from this earth,” is a clever way of not saying whether she died or not.

The interesting feature of this mosaic is the figure of Mary’s risen son holding his mother as an infant at her death bed.

The central nave of the church is more Spartan with two single mosaics flanking the sanctuary: John the Evangelist to the left and Our Lady to the right.

The side altars, however are full of paintings. These may be the three great Cappadocian fathers: Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Naziensen, and Basil. Cappadocia was one of the places we did not visit on our pilgrimage. I would have enjoyed finding anything there relating to Gregory Naziensen who in my opinion is one of the greatest of the church fathers.

The two saints who flank the entrance into the main nave of the church are Peter and Paul. Saint Peter can always be recognized because he’s the one holding the keys. Paul’s receding hairline indicates an older man, the prominent forehead a man of intelligence, and then there’s those teaching fingers.

The risen Lord is depicted in a traditional pose called “the harrowing of hell” where he grabs Adam with his right hand and Eve with his left to lift them up to heaven as Jesus rises from the place of the dead. Our first parents had to wait for Jesus to redeem them from their sins before they could enter heaven.