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.

On the picture: The pleasant garden next to the church.
Future excavations in the wider area of the Panagia of Blachernæ may lead to the discovery of the ruins of the great Byzantine church.

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