page_title: Church of Saint Menas of Samatya
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Church of Saint Menas of Samatya / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: The Martyrion of St. Karpos and Papylos. Particular of the corridor vault.
context_page_description: Saint Menas is a Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul.
  The edifice was built in 1833 near an early Christian Martyrion of the fourth or fifth century, possibly dedicated to the saints Carpus and Papylus, and on the site of an ancient church dedicated to Hagios Polykarpos.
  The modern church has the same dedication as a nearby water source.
context_section_description: The present church is a rectangular building with a basilica plan, with length of approximately 20 metres (66 ft), width of 13 metres (43 ft), and height of 9 metres (30 ft). It is oriented in east to west direction, and has a side entrance and a bell tower. The interior is divided into three naves. The pictures on the upper section of its iconostasis contain images with episodes of the life of Jesus Christ; those on the lower section, several Saints, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary. On the faces of the ambon, Christ with the Evangelists are painted. The Naos is adorned with images of Christ Pantocrator. Nothing remains of the ancient Byzantine church.
  The Martyrion, which lies under the church and behind a gas station, currently houses two shops, an iron workshop and a car wash shop. It can be accessed through a modern opening obtained by enlarging an ancient window. The original structure was a rotunda with an inner circle of columns supporting a dome. The central chamber is a room covered by a lowered dome constructed of brickwork with a height of 5.70 metres (19 ft) and a diameter of 12 metres (39 ft).
  This room is partially encompassed by a deambulatorium 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) wide and 7.5 metres (25 ft) high, which has a horseshoe shape. The room gives access towards the east to a rectangular bema. This has at its right the remains of a spiral stairs, possibly used in the past to reach the upper church, and at its left a cell with an apse. The Hagiasma still exists and lies opposite to the Martyrion.
caption: A close view of the vault of the horseshoe shaped corridor of the martyrion
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