bFour essays on the oldest church in Istanbul. b p The Monastery of Stoudios was built in the fifth century in Constantinople and for centuries constituted one of the most significant monasteries of the Byzantine capital. Today, only the church of the monastic complex--which was converted into a mosque in the Ottoman Period--survives. p The chapters of this book complement different aspects of the Monastry of Stoudios based on primary sources. Esra Kudde explores its architectural characteristics and provides detailed documentation Nicholas Melvani provides a meticulous study of its Byzantine history and evaluates its elements of architectural sculpture and Tarkan Ok uo287lu narrates the Ottoman history of the complex.