Client / Sponsor: Athanasios and Marina Martinos Foundation
Owner: Foundation of the Evangelistria Greek Orthodox Church, Dolapdere
Original Architect: Petrakis Meimaridis (1877–1893)
Contractor: VASPO İnşaat (Vasilis Poridis)
Condition Assessment & Project Management (PMO & PMC): Penelis Consulting Engineers S.A.
Location: Dolapdere, Tatavla (Kurtuluş), Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey

The Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos (Evangelistria) stands at the foot of Tatavla (today Kurtuluş), in the Dolapdere quarter of Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Built between 1877 and 1893 to designs by the Tatavla architect Petrakis Meimaridis, on the site of an earlier wooden church of 1857, it is a cruciform three-aisled basilica with five domes and two bell towers incorporated into its main front. With a plan of 16.30 × 29.40 m and a height exceeding 25 m, it is one of the most imposing Greek Orthodox churches of the city.

In 2021, at the request of the church community and through the mediation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Athanasios and Marina Martinos undertook the complete restoration of the church. Penelis Consulting Engineers acted as Project Management Consultant on behalf of the benefactor, from the initial condition survey through tender, contract award and construction.

Condition of the monument

The church combines load-bearing rubble and brick masonry with an external cladding of dressed stone tied back to the wall core with iron cramps. Moisture – roof leakage, rising damp along the south and east walls and water entering joints opened by past earthquakes – had corroded the cramps; their expansion cracked and spalled the facing stones, with fragments falling from the bell towers onto the roofs and courtyard. Inside, damp had destroyed large areas of the painted decoration, and the timber galleries and bell-tower staircases had been attacked by water and wood-boring insects.

Scope of works

• Removal of the external stone cladding, repair of the masonry and resetting of the stones on stainless-steel anchors; fractured stones replaced with new stone from the original quarry
• Complete renewal of the roof waterproofing, with the lead sheeting of the domes and vaults re-laid and completed
• Repair or replacement of decayed timber elements of the galleries and staircases
• Removal of unsound plaster, consolidation of sound areas and restoration of the iconographic and decorative painting
• Repair of the metal window frames; new heating and cooling plant, electrical installation and architectural lighting

Penelis role

• Condition assessment and technical report defining the restoration scope and budget (November 2021)
• Tender documentation, contractor selection with the benefactor and preparation of the construction contract
• Monthly site meetings, review of programme, quality and safety, technical solutions for the contractor, monthly progress reports, and evaluation of variations and payment applications

The works were executed by VASPO İnşaat (Vasilis Poridis) from mid-2022 and completed in 2024. The restored church was consecrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on 27 October 2024.

The restored church

During the works