The Five Vanished Churches in Kaleiçi, Antalya

Hidden Crosses of Antalya

• Finding Hidden Churches – Walking Tour of Kaleiçi, Antalya
• Former Byzantine Church in Antalya
• Hidden Crosses in the Antalya Archeology Museum
• Kaleiçi Walking Tour – From Port Lookout to the Greek Walls
• Antalya Bell Tower – Whoops! Clock Tower Walking Tour
• The Five Vanished Churches in Kaleiçi, Antalya
• New Evidence for St. John’s Church at Antalya’s Yivli Minare?
• The Many Mysteries of Karaalioğlu Park in Antalya

In 1989, a historical write-up of the churches in Antalya stated that historians only knew of five churches in the old town of Kaleiçi. ^[1]https://akmed.ku.edu.tr/en/kaleici-museum/church-of-hagios-georgios/ However, I can list at least 10 churches in my survey of churches in Kaleiçi, Antalya. We will uncover five vanished or lost churches that are ignored in general studies. Let’s investigate the five vanished churches in Kaleiçi.

Amazingly, these five vanished churches in Kaleiçi, centered near Yenikapı, no longer exist today due to the 1895 fire and the early 20th-century population exchange. If one starts near the Yenikapı entrance, a walking tour will follow these five sights and show what remains of these flourishing 1800s churches.

Panteleimon – Transfiguration Orthodox Church

In my research, I had no idea about this church in the Karaalioğlu Parkı area. The Metropolitan Cinema and Museum now occupies a portion of this former complex. The church hosted a hospital and the headquarters for the Archdiocese for the Greek Orthodox church. The church’s namesake, St. Panteleimon, came from Nicomedia in Bithynia (Izmit area), and during his life, he was known for his healing powers. Interestingly, this location also hosted a hospital. He prayed for the sick and committed them to the great healer, Jesus.

During the Ottoman period, this was an active church, and some decisions regarding other churches burnt in the fire sought the approval of its leadership for rebuilding. The building seemed to have partly burned during the 1895 fire, but the smaller building in the park (south of the cinema) had historically replaced the church building in 1932. So, this small building must have survived the 1895 fire but not the Greek exodus. A 1905 map places a church south of the current government building and a Greek school at the location of the building.

The Karaalioğlu Park developed after 1935, but the area had previously held Gypsies resettled from Corfu, Greece (via Thessaloniki).^[2]https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1061945 So, the exodus of Greeks from the location brought Turks from the region near Corfu, Greece. The Ottomans controlled a nearby area of Corfu up till 1912.

Historians have also given the church’s names: Metropolitan Center, IsodiaTisPanayas, and Aya Dimitrios. One author says the fire destroyed the church of Dimitrios. In my research, Dimitrios’s location is another place that most likely burned in 1895. We know that the Antalya government replaced the Metropolitan church building in 1932.^[3]Çimrin, H., 2012. Bir Zamanlar Antalya Tarih, Gözlem ve Anılar Cilt: I-II. Antalya: Antalya Ticaret ve Sanayi Odası Kültür Yayınları

St. George Church near Hidirlik Tower

Some early maps and researchers indicate that there was another St. George Church next to the Hıdırlık Tower, or that it was part of the tower tomb area. The 1863 St. George church, which now hosts the Suna İnan Kıraç Müzesi, differs from this location. This St. George at Hidirlik Tower is another of the five churches that have vanished in Kaleiçi. Google Maps lists the small street running along the Tower as St. George Street.

In a 1922 report, the government noted that a church was located in the Hidirlik Tower. (Erten, S.F., 1997. Antalya Livası Tarihi. Antalya: Altın Portakal Kültür ve Sanat Vakfı
Yayınları)) The tower chapel displays frescoes on the lower interior, but no online site shows pictures. The tower is not open to the public, so this church is still unknown to historians and tourists.

Here is my 2026 visit to this location, when the open-air museum opened up. Currently, minimal Christian evidence is on display.

The Old Town Festival website states, “After a long hallway inside the building, there are large niches arranged in a cruciform inside, it is thought these were the places for the governor and senior members of the family were placed. At the same places on these walls there are the depictions of the Apostles and remains from when it is used as a chapel during the Christian period.”^[4]https://www.kaleicioldtown.com/en/historic-sites/hidirlik-tower/14 So a cruciform center with tombs and frescoes of the apostles within this site. The comment about the Christian period would include hundreds of years. We know that Byzantine churches began to use frescoes intentionally in the 12th and 13th centuries.

In some maps, people have placed this church in the open space between the Soul Cafe and the ancient walls behind their building. If such a structure existed, it likely burned in the 1895 fire. That area remained a green space after the fire until at least 1992. In light of its same name as another and the limited data on the church in or near the tower, much remains to be known about whether the church is just within the tower. My video below explores the options.

Hagia Luinidi Church

Researchers have used Leontios (Leontius) and Leopenidi (Hagios Leontios) to describe a church that lasted 400 to 500 years. The church was most likely part of the monastery in Kaleici. The fire of 1895 burned four monasteries. Güven DİNÇ said, “As a result of the rapid development of the fire that broke out in the summer of 1895, 417 Greek households were completely destroyed. Besides the households, there was also 1 mosque and 4 monasteries.”^[5]1895 yazında çıkan yangının hızlı gelişmesi sonucu 417 adet Rum hanesi tamamıyla kül oldu. Haneler yanında 1 cami ve 4 manastır da bulunuyordu. Bu Antalya tarihinin gördüğü en büyük … Continue reading

St. Leontios served in a monastery in Crete and later in southern Greece. He studied in Constantinople and lived in the 14th-15th century. The Greek patriarch wrote about his life, and possibly because of this, the monastery in the old city of Kaleici honored his memory.

The historical write-up outside the school mentions the 1905 Greek Girls’ School, which honored the church by dedicating a room to St. Leontios Church. The school was built on the site of the former church (or possibly its garden). The sign could go into more detail: The 1905 building, through the donation of the Greek people, was built on the ruins of St. Leontios Church and the surrounding monastery, housing the Greek girls’ school. This location was dedicated for religious use for about 500 years. One write-up mentioned that the building was commissioned in 1900 by Greek merchants but most likely opened in 1905.

Armenian Hovhannes Surp Garabed

Near Hamam Cikmaz Sokak, the former Armenian church stood in or near the open parking area with some murals.

Hovhannes Surp Garabed means the St. John the Baptist Church. Antalya’s Armenian population was usually smaller than the Greek one, but in 1840, they had more people and households than the Rum (Greek) population. Yet within 50 years, they numbered only 49. During the 1870s and 1880s many Armenians from Asia Minor migrated to America.^[6]Bakalian, Anny P. (1993). Armenian-Americans : from being to feeling Armenian. New Brunswick (U.S.A.): Transaction Publishers.

St. Nicholas Greek Church in Kaleiçi

This church sat in the square near Candle Suites and the Ayyas Meyhane Tavern. In the cafe, the building incorporated some of the spolia of the former church. The 1905 Kaleici town map shows it as a church, and another city map from 1943 shows the building as an educational facility. In a 1953 property sale, some church remains existed, including the square. Most likely, the new building of the Suites replaced any remains of the former church as well as the renewal of the square.

Possible Spolia from the church at 30 Zafer Sokak, over the Varuna Cafe archway. If so, this shows that a very ancient church stood at this location.

Links about the five vanished churches in Kaleiçi:

Kenan Cruz Çilli write-up includes some Greek residences marked as Greek chapels. Thanks for the insights. I will need to visit these places in the future. Also, his map of Karalioglu Park shows the eastern section as a cemetery.

The write-up on the 1895 fire. If accurate, the area from Yenikapi to the Hidirlik Tower consisted of four monasteries, most likely hosting many Greeks and wooden houses before 1895. Over 600 Greek families were affected by the fire.

ANTALYA KALEİÇİ’NDEKİ AYA ALYPİOS ORTODOKS KİLİSESİ article by Şebnem Alp – Thanks so much and this research opened my insights to these possibilities of this topic.

A 1905 map research by Evren Dayar – Anything by this historian is worth the read.

The Hidirlik Tower’s recent digs have revealed mosaics and an ancient colonnade. Oh, my, Antalya has so much to offer!

In my explorations, I attempt to observe historical items, often
guessing at items viewed and giving my first impressions of what I see.
Like myself, I encourage viewers to research these things to learn more.
I am open to correcting any false impressions that my writing may show about these five vanished churches in Kaleiçi.

Check out my other explorations: