After visiting Troy, we left it and returned to Istanbul in the afternoon of Nov 9. We had some extra hours until the di

nner time. So, we took a short walk to the Patriarchal Cathedral Church of St. George, the principal Eastern Orthodox

cathedral in Istanbul. On the way, we also took a picture of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

이스탄불 구도시의 거리가 재미있는 것은 과거 이 도시가 로마제국의 수도이던 시절의 성벽위에다 사람들이 건물을 올려서 그야 말로 수천년의 역사가 건물마다 녹아 있다는 것이다. 과연 세계 어느 도시에서 이런 현상을 볼 수 있을까? 

The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church (Bulgarian: Църква "Свети Стефан"; Turkish: Sveti Stefan Kilisesi), also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Balat, Istanbul, Turkey. It is famous for being made of prefabricated cast iron elements in the Neo-Byzantine style. The church belongs to the Bulgarian Christian minority in the city.

The Patriarchal Cathedral Church of St. George (Greek: Πατριαρχικός Ναός του Αγίου Γεωργίου; Turkish: Aya Yorgi Kilisesi) is the principal Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and, as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire until 1453, and of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Since about 1600, it has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose leader is regarded as the primus inter pares (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is frequently looked upon as the spiritual leader of the 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

The church, dedicated to the Christian martyr Saint George, is the site of numerous important services and is where the patriarch will consecrate the chrism (myron) on Holy and Great Thursday when needed. For this reason, the church is also known as the "Patriarchal Church of the Great Myrrh." At one time, the patriarch would consecrate all of the chrism used throughout the entire Orthodox Church. However, now the heads of most of the autocephalous churches sanctify their own myrrh.