Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe: Balikli Patriarchal and Greek Orthodox Cemeteries (Istanbul, Turkey)

The Balikli Patriarchal and Greek Orthodox Cemetaries are located at the historical Balikli Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Life-giving Spring.

Cemetery history

The Balikli Patriarchal and Greek Orthodox Cemeteries are located at the historical Balikli Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Life-giving Spring. The history of the monastery goes back many centuries ago. According to tradition, the Byzantine Emperor Leo I (457-474), while wandering outside the walls of Constantinople, found a blind thirsty man and hurried to help him. Then he heard a voice telling him that a little further would find a spring of water to give to the blind man. When he was later crowned emperor in 457, he built a church above that spring, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and named it Life-giving Spring.

The stories and traditions regarding the spring continue in the years of the Byzantine Emperors Justinian I (527-565), Basil I of Macedon (867-886), and Irene of Athens (752-803). In the time of the Byzantine Emperor Heraklion (610-641) the first losses of the Byzantine cross were buried on that place.

According to tradition on May 29, 1453, during the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, a monk of the monastery was frying fish next to the spring. When someone informed him about the conquest he did not believe and said “If it is true then let the fried fish come to life, and let it fall into the spring water.” Before completing the phrase the half-fried fish returned to the water. That is why the monastery was named Balikli, from the Turkish word “balık” which means fish.

Cemetery significance

From 1842 onwards the Patriarchs of Constantinople were buried in the western courtyard of the monastery. Northeast of the monastery is the oldest and second largest Greek Orthodox cemetery in Istanbul, with many important burial monuments.

It is worth noting that a series of Karamanlid tombstones that come from the cemetery, are placed in second use in the north and east courtyard of the monastery since this master pieces are unique in the world. The inscriptions on them are written in Turkish, but in Greek characters, according to the type of writing developed by the Turkish-speaking Orthodox of Cappadocia who moved to Constantinople.