Church of Santa Maria Draperis

The Church of Santa Maria Draperis is set behind a decorative iron fence and reached by a steep staircase descending from the busy Istiklal Caddesi. It is one of the oldest active Roman Catholic parishes in Istanbul, with origins tracing back to fifteen eighty-four. The Franciscans who founded the church were repeatedly displaced by fires and earthquakes, losing their sanctuary multiple times before settling at this location.