The holy church of the Annunciation to the Virgin (Evangelismos tis Theotokou) is situated on the east edge of the neighbourhood of Tatavla (pres. Kurtuluş) in Istanbul. The present church was erected on top of a smaller wooden church of the mid-nineteenth century. It was consecrated on 27 November 1894, at a period which the historical quarter of Constantinople was flourishing. Today’s church is a cruciform three-aisle basilica with five domes. Its large size (16.30 m x 29.40 m) and mainly its great height (over 25 m), in combination with the two belfries incorporated in it, make it an imposing monument. It is constructed with a mixed system of stone and bricks, while in places on the exterior there is marble revetment.
Due to damp, the metal clamps between the bearing structure of rubble masonry and the stone revetment had rusted, resulting in cracking of the stone blocks and breaking off of parts of them. Furthermore, damp had destroyed large parts of the iconographic and decorative programme of the interior and the decoration as a whole had never been conserved. In the framework of the total restoration of the church, the external cladding was removed and the metal clamps were replaced by non-corrosive ones. The outside stones were conserved and repaired, and those that were badly broken were replaced with new ones from the same quarry as the original construction. In addition, the insulation of the roof was fully replaced, with relaying of lead sheets and the filling in of all necessary parts.
Inside the church, those parts of the staircases and the women’s galleries which had been damaged by damp were repaired or replaced. Crumbling plaster coats were removed, those that could be salvaged were consolidated and conserved, and the painted figural and aniconic decoration was completed. Last, an air-conditioning system was installed, as well as architectural lighting.
