Now a Greek chapel sits on the spot where the holy spring or ayazma of Blachernae flowed in pre-Christian times. Its waters are believed to posses miraculous powers, but having drank it I feel much the same. In 451 a great church was built over the spring by Pulcheria, wife to Emperor Marcian. A few years later the robe and mantle of the Virgin were kept here. As a result it became the most important shrine in the city. The church was destroyed in 1434 by fire.

After the the Fall of Constantinople (1453), nothing remained from the once rich and famous shrine except for the site of the Sacred Spring. The place passed into Ottoman hands until 1867, when it was purchased by the Guild of Greek Orthodox Furriers, who built a small church containing the hagiasma.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: Internetsite of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople