Kariye

Thomas Whittemore, on the other hand, is recognized as a scholar, a professor, an archeologist and philanthropist who worked for many years in the United States, Europe, Turkey Russia and Egypt. The Byzantine Institute of America he founded in the 1930s was created with the dual mission of preserving Byzantine monuments and promoting their study. The first project undertaken by the Institute was the restoration of mosaics in the former church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul in 1931. The Institute launched a similar program at the Kariye Camisi in 1947, beginning with the conservation of the mosaics in the central space of worship (naos) and entrance vestibules (narthices). After the discovery of a vivid fresco cycle in the funerary chapel (parekklesion), the project was expanded to include painting conservation. After the death of Thomas Whittemore in 1950, the Byzantine Institute of America was governed by the Dumbarton Oaks Fieldwork Committee in Washington, D.C., which continues its traditions and supports the study and preservation of Byzantine monuments to the very day.

Theodoros Metokhites' manuscript, archeological finds excavated at Kariye, and a large number of historic records and photographs documenting the period restoration of the breathtaking mosaics and frescoes are displayed in İstanbul for the first time through this exhibition.