Church of St. Mary of the Mongols

Tucked into the steep lanes of the Fener district, this small red-brick church is the only Byzantine church in Istanbul to remain continuously in Greek Orthodox hands since before the Ottoman conquest. Founded in the thirteenth century and linked to a Palaiologan princess who married into the Mongol court, it takes its popular name from that connection. The compact interior holds old icons and a mosaic panel, and the building is protected by a firman said to have been granted by Mehmed II. Its survival is rare.