Fodor's Expert Review Zeyrek Camii

Standing on a prime site overlooking the Golden Horn, this is the largest surviving Byzantine church in the city, after Aya Sofya itself. Built in the early 12th century as a monastery and mausoleum for the ruling Comnenus dynasty, it was once wealthy and sumptuous, though today it's a somewhat sad remnant of its former glory. The church is actually three churches joined end on end, and the middle one held the royal tombs. The southern church functions as a mosque today, and a wooden floor protects the original tile floor.