The Kariye Museum is in the Church of Christ the Savior in Chora, which was founded in the 4th-5th centuries behind the walls of Constantinople. The town entered the temple only after the walls were built of Theodosius. For several centuries the Church was rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, and therefore to our days has not been preserved early Byzantine architecture.

But the main treasure of the temple is not considered architecture and the existing, now the Kariye Museum with mosaics and frescoes relating to 1315-1321 years that adorn the temple. In his time on the decoration of the temple of Theodore Metochites, who was the first Prime Minister and Treasurer at the court of Emperor Andronicus II, spent a fortune.

When came to power Andronicus III, Metochites was removed from his post and sent into exile. On his return from exile Metochites became a monk in the Church Choir. After his death he was buried in the chapel of the Church. After 50 years after the fall of Constantinople by order of the vizier of Sultan Bayezid II, whose name was Hadim ALM-Pasha, on the gallery of the minaret was built, and the frescoes and mosaics plastered with whitewash. The Church became a mosque Kariye. Thanks to the actions of the vizier masterpiece of Byzantine art have been preserved under the plaster to our times. In 1948, the specialists of the Byzantine Institute (USA) began in the mosque restoration work. Open Kariye Museum took place in 1958.

In the Church-Museum 3 main areas: lobby, main room of the temple and funerary chapel with frescoes, which were created in 1320. Striking thematic variety and rich detail of the mosaics that adorn the lobby and the main room. They do not go to any comparison with other Byzantine churches, preserved to our times.

Traced to four main topics: the genealogy of Christ, his birth and childhood, the life of the virgin, the Christ. The image of Christ Pantokrator (Almighty) is located opposite the entrance above the door. The opposite side is decorated with the image of the virgin with angels. Mosaic depicting St. Peter and St. Paul, and 16 of the kings of the tribe of David in the narthex. The assumption of the virgin depicted in the nave. On the South side of the Church built a chapel whose walls are decorated with frescoes on the theme of the last judgment, hell and Paradise. In the walls pareklisia are niches for tombs, this is where the frescoes are painted on the theme of death and afterlife. The surviving frescoes and mosaics of the Museum Karya suggests that Byzantine painting of the era paleological Renaissance was philosophical depth, plastic and perspective, creating the appearance of a living movement.