Fallen, but Not Forgotten
Since its founding circa 500 A.D., the Stoudios Monastery has experienced few instances in which its physical structure has been complicated, such as in 1204 when it was destroyed by Crusaders, in 1453 when it was damaged by the invading Turks, and particularly in 1894 when it was chronically destabilized by an earthquake[1]. Though it has been established that physical disaster limits practicality of any site and thus drains it of some amount of potential historical value, the many rounds of destruction endured by the Stoudios Monastery presents, in its own right, the value of longevity and a testament to its immortality – in memory and in the present.
After undergoing reconstruction periods after the Crusades and Ottoman siege, the 1894 earthquake proved to be the latest devastation to the monastery that put it into a state of, at least for now, disrepair. When the dome collapsed a few years after the earthquake that undermined it[2], the monastery was left to rot, but even so, the Stoudios Monastery remains the oldest remaining church from the Byzantine era in Istanbul[3]. With a lingering presence, the Stoudios Monastery has not yet vanished from perception, and so has not yet relinquished its entire existence to memory yet. With the plans to refurbish the site, the monastery may very well continue to serve Istanbullu culture and further its state as a lieu de mémoire.