In Istanbul's Fatih District, not far from the Aqueduct, there is a church that is visited by people of different religions. They all come with one goal - to buy a key, open the cherished icon for them and ask for the fulfillment of their wishes. And since desires are fulfilled here only on the first day of each month, that's why the temple is called the Church of One Day.
But this is not the only name for the church. It is also called the Church of the Fulfillment of Desires, the Virgin Mary, the Holy Source, Keys. And in order to find it, it will be enough to name any of these names - a place known both among locals and among tourists.
This can be seen if you visit the church on the first day of any month. It is on such days that a large queue of people is waiting at the entrance to the temple. They all want to test for themselves the temple's ability to fulfill desires. Although it still works on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Although the whole world knows about the Church of One Day, little is known from a historical point of view. Even a more or less exact date of its construction has not been established. But judging by the fact that fragments of antique columns lie in the garden of the church, one can assume that a Byzantine temple once stood on this place. And there are many such debris since antiquity in the capital of Turkey, you just have to take a closer look while walking around the city.
There is a local legend that in the 18th century the garden, which now houses the Church of One Day, was bought by a Greek. Once, his daughter Mary had a dream in which the Most Holy Virgin herself appeared to her. And she told about the healing source of water, which is located right in their garden. The Blessed Virgin even clarified - in which exact place you need to look in order to find the source. In the morning, Maria told about an unusual dream, and the whole family went in search of the place indicated by the Virgin Mary. And, of course, they found a source, and as a gratitude they established a church in the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In order to taste the water from the spring, you need to go down to the basement of the temple. Although those who have drunk it, note that the water is not very tasty. But many believe that it helps to heal from diseases. Therefore, there is often a queue to the source.
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Another name - the Church of the Keys - the temple received because of the special order in which you need to fulfill wishes. When entering, you need to buy a key or several keys - it all depends on the number of wishes made. Then, with these keys, you need to approach the icons, of which there are a lot here and almost all of them are hidden behind wooden frames. These salaries must be opened with the keys. In this case, you need to pray or just talk and think about the most cherished.
And then you need to take this key with you and wait until the wish comes true. After that, come back to return the key. It is also very desirable to distribute sweets in the courtyard of the temple. Thanks to this tradition, there is always someone who treats parishioners with cookies, baklava or just sugar.
Because of this cycle of keys, local clergy do not have to make new ones. And this despite the fact that every month up to three thousand keys are taken from the church. Some even come with notes from relatives and friends who were unable to attend church but also want to fulfill their dreams. They ask to put a note inside the icon and take a key for them.
Another difference between this temple and any other is that people of various religions can come here. It is interesting to watch this unusual line of Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics, who are blessed by a Greek priest from a nearby church.