The ruins of a Byzantine church are located in Istanbul’s old area, Türkiye, on a lot where residents threw their waste and homeless people slept until recently. However, a new archaeological park is being constructed with the intention of revitalizing the ruins of the Church of St. Polyeuctus, which vanished beneath urban development almost a millennium ago. The church’s ruins were discovered during the construction of an underpass in the 1960s.
Constructed in 524-527 A.D. to house the skull of the early Christian martyr Saint Polyeuctus, its reign as Istanbul’s largest church was temporary, being surpassed in 537 A.D. by the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia.
In June of last year, the municipality started excavating the site once more, this time with the intention of giving it new life. In early April, the ruins of a cloister, which once housed mosaics and mounted gemstones, were discovered at the site. While visitors can schedule tours of the church now, the park is anticipated to open to the public in June.