Beautiful (at least the exterior church) in Istanbul with a nice grounds…read more So why the 2 stars? Every Mosque we went into was always super friendly and the looks my son and I got from the staff here you would think we were literally the barbarians at the gate. We spent at most 5 minutes here and moved on to greener pastures

Beautiful Neo-Gothic Roman Catholic Church tucked away off busy İstiklal Avenue. Run by Italian…read morepriests, masses are conducted in Italian, Polish, Turkish and English. Pope John XXIII conducted mass at this church for a decade when he was the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey. He is affectionately known as the "Turkish Pope" in Turkey due to his fluency in Turkish and his love for Istanbul and the Turkish people.

Brand new by Istanbul timetables, this 19th century Bulgarian Orthodox Church (properly Sveti…read moreStefan Church) on the shore of the Golden Horn is beautiful and a good close to a walk around the city walls (it's in the Fener/Balat District). Donated by Prince Stefan Bogoridi in 1849. Three domes, cruciform shape, the ornamentation inside and out is Gothic-Neo-Baroque and Neo-Byzantine in style and breathtaking. It's also very near a tram stop.

Oh you know, just your average 19th-century Bulgarian Orthodox church, made entirely of cast iron…read more Because why not? Apparently stone was too mainstream. This beauty was flat-packed from Vienna (yes, like IKEA for churches) and assembled like a divine Lego set. It's the only cast-iron church in the world. I walked in expecting holy vibes and left wondering why my house isn't made of ornate Belgian ironwork. Absolutely amazed. 10/10 would get spiritually rusted again.

Our local tour guide (Safiye) took us down for a stroll on İstiklal Avenue, which is a well known…read moreshopping street in Istanbul. That included taking us inside St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. In a City full of stunning mosques and sprinkling of Eastern Orthodox, visiting this Roman Catholic establishment kind of turned the tourist saying of "Oh Joy, another Church!" on its head. We found the interior to be very impressive and comforting. This is the largest church in Istanbul and has Italian pedigree, both in its founding and in its clergy today. Depending on the day of the week, one could attend Mass in either Turkish, English, or Italian. Pope John XXIII preached here for 10 years while he was the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey before being chosen as pope. He is known as "the Turkish Pope" because of his fluency in Turkish and his oft-expressed love for Turkey and Istanbul. Gayle and I were able to admire a statue of him installed within the church's courtyard. I also detected a bit of Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox influence within a few of the "Icons" inside the church. One was how the 3 fingers are put together to signify the Trinity, with the back 2 fingers following. And if we stuck around longer, my guess is that we might have seen people crossing themselves in either the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox mode.

Went here for Christmas Eve service - absolutely beautiful!! Decorated to the nines both inside…read moreand out. If you're around Taksim Square on Christmas Eve, stop by for a visit at least. If you want to stay for mass on Christmas Eve, come early. 45 minutes before the service and it was standing room only. Very diverse crowd!

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy in Fener neighborhood is one of the sights that one should visit in…read morethe old part of the city. It's the core of the Orthodox world thus many Greeks come to visit the church. Each weekend they conduct mass and if you're lucky you may meet the Patriach himself as well. Don't forget to visit Fener and Balat neighborhood after/before your visit and get lost in the "old Istanbul".

With chandeliers and all interior design, the patriarchate has a very illuminating feel. Sacred…read morerelics and reliefs are kept here. The stone which was used to tie Jesus was brought there from Jerusalem. Since the 6th century the Phanar Greek Patriarchate has been the center of Orthodoxy. It was first founded by Constantine the Great in 330 AD. By the time Fatih Sultan Mehmed legalized the the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate after the conquest of Istanbul, Gennadios II was assigned as patriarch and he operated the patriarchate from the Apostles Church. The building was moved from one place to another several times.

This particular church is located next to Taskim Square. Unlike Brian I was unable to find a nice…read morelady to badger the front guard to let us see the inside part of the church. Aside from that, the anteroom is okay and the grounds nice, but you are better off spending time elsewhere IMHO

Fantastic church next to Taksim Square. Looks like a palace. The church was closed when we…read morearrived, but we were able to walk around the church. Then I met some sweet old ladies in their Sunday best and they kindly used their sweet old lady powers to talk to the guard to let us into the church. So nice.

Greek Orthodox Church, one of the few, near Istiklal Street. This was one was built in the early…read moresixteen hundreds. You really feel the history of the place in the architecture inside the church. There are balconies along the walls of the second floor above the pews. It is said to be the second most important Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul after the Patriarchate a few miles away. The church isn't always open. So, if you do get the caretaker to open it, it would be a very nice gesture to give him a 5 or 10 Lira note afterwards. You don't have to, but it is polite to do so.