Church of the Virgin of the Pharos

Istanbul, Turkey

No longer standing

Demolished or destroyed.

The Church of the Virgin of the Pharos was a Byzantine chapel built in the early eighth century within the Great Palace of Constantinople, named for the lighthouse tower that adjoined it. Located in the palace's southern reaches, it served as the principal chapel of the Byzantine emperors and housed one of the city's most significant collections of Christian relics, making it a site of immense spiritual and imperial importance.