The Iron Church: Bulgarian Heritage in Istanbul

I’ve often passed in front of this church and wondered at its brilliance because it does actually look like a source of light. Maybe because of its golden caps and crosses that top its multiple peaks. The Old Bulgarian Church (aka the Iron Church) is located in Balat, a stone-throw away from the beautiful old mosques of old Constantinople. If you look around it, you’d wonder why it exists in this odd place because it’s surrounded by nothing historically special except the remains of walls of the old city. The rest is just small, old buildings that lack the aesthetics of history. Behind it though, are the pristine flowing waters of the Golden Horn. And if you enter inside the church’s garden and glance at the water, you’ll think “hmm, maybe the Bulgarians had a good idea about the location”.

After some quick on-the-go googling, I find out that this church was newly renovated and re-opened earlier this year. It had been a wooden church when it was first built in the 19th century and after burning down, was later re-built in 1898 from prefabricated cast iron material. That last phrase is very reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower in Paris but the look and of both constructions is definitely not the same. The restoration of the church took seven years to complete but the result was definitely worth it. Legend has it that the church was made of cast iron because Sultan Abdel-Aziz (Abdülaziz) was reluctant for the Orthodox minority to build a church so he set the unrealistic deadline of one month to finish it. That, of course, is not true. It took more than that to just transfer the prefabricated iron from Vienna to Istanbul, but that story made the church more interesting to visit, didn’t it? Wait till you go in!

From inside the small church’s garden, everything falls silent. I kid you not. Despite it being in the middle of quite a busy street, when you get into that garden, it’s like you got into a bubble. All the noise and busyness phase out and are replaced by tranquility. From the garden and as you look at the water flowing behind the church, it’s like the water is the church’s own river; as if no streets come between them and no world, either.

The garden is spacious. It surrounds the rectangular church in rectangular paths that hold marble gravestones on the right-hand side as you enter through the gates. The graves look like they belong to some important folk. To the left of the entrance are vast white-marbled pathways that open up to a beautiful small mosaic fountain and a cafe where you can get tea overlooking the water. The fountain is adorned with beautiful calming colors of pastel blues, pinks, and gold. This, mixed with white bits of mosaic, gives the feeling of an underwater whirlpool. It did look like a drinking fountain as well as a wishing fountain as there were some tiny coins laying at the bottom.

As I walked up a few steps to the church, I saw a souvenir shop to the left and a stall of candles on the right. You can get a small candle for 3 TL or a bigger one for 10 TL. But that’s about the only money you pay there, except if you would like to make a donation to the church.

As soon as I took a few more steps in, my jaw literally dropped. I saw the following: From left to right, as if framed for a picture, was the whole facade of the altar surrounded by the gold and black iron ornamentation of the internal gate of the church. It was magnificent, to say the least. The altar itself was gleaming gold with images of Christ, Mary, and the different saints. The depth of the church is quite short with 3 or 4 rows of dark wooden benches on the left and right. I glanced up and saw the beautiful golden crisscrosses of the ceiling with light green paint in between. Right before the altar and beyond the benches were two wooden thrones where I assume priests and preachers sit. Their backs are inlaid with gold on which images of Christ are drawn. On the walls, high above, there are painted glass flowers to the right and left of the church that radiates the sun’s warmth inside the hall.

On the second floor, there are more benches to accommodate the visitors and worshippers. The second floor offers a striking view of the hall below and a more dramatic and quieter worshipping experience. It’s definitely darker and less ornate than the floor below.

I went to the church because of its beautiful outside, and the inside was even more striking and serene. I was not the only visitor for I saw a man and a lady going out as I got it in. As well, there were two candles already lit inside in the sand pit. No idea if they belonged to these visitors or some other early risers. I usually find that in places of worship, prayers are quite tranquil. Of course, that is a generalization and particularly true only if there are a few people in them. It’s fascinating to feel this sense of calmness in such a busy area of the city. The energy of the place was as serene as the flowing water of the Golden Horn. I would definitely recommend a quick visit before heading to the intense tourist areas or maybe just drop by for a cup of tea, on the shores of the Golden Horn, in the vast garden of the cross-shaped beautiful church.

Have you ever visited the Bulgarian Iron Church? Let us know what you think in the comments below!