chaque cote sept
colonnes de vert antique, surmontees d'une frise de marbre blanc
parfaitement sculptee, qui contient un ordre plus petit et tres bien
proportionne avec le premier. Je ne sais de quel marbre sont ces
secondes colonnes, parce que les Turcs qui defigurent tout ont imagine
de les couvrir de chaux.'

Ph. Bruun (_Constantinople, ses sanctuaires et ses reliques au
commencement du XVe siecle_, Odessa, 1883) identifies with the
Studion one of the churches dedicated to S. John, which Ruy Gonzalez
de Clavijo visited in Constantinople when on his way to the Court of
Tamerlane. But that church was 'a round church without corners,' 'una
quadra redonda sin esquinas,' and had forty-eight columns of verd
antique, 'veinte e quatro marmoles de jaspe verde, ... e otros veinte
e quatro marmoles de jaspe verde.' What church the Spanish ambassador
had in view, if his description is correct, it is impossible to say.
No other writer describes such a church in Constantinople. See the
Note at the end of this chapter for the full text of the ambassador's
description.

The northern wall of the atrium is original, as the crosses in brick
formed in its brickwork show. The trees which shade the court, the
Turkish tombstones beneath them, and the fountain in the centre, combine
to form a very beautiful approach to the church, and reproduce the
general features and atmosphere of its earlier days.

The narthex is divided into three bays, separated by heavy arches. It is
covered by a modern wooden roof, but shows no signs of ever having been
vaulted. The centre bay contains in its external wall a beautiful
colonnade of four marble columns, disposed, to use a classical term, 'in
antis.' They stand on comparatively poor bases, but their Corinthian
capitals are exceptionally fine, showing the richest Byzantine form of
that type of capital. The little birds under the angles of the abaci
should not be overlooked.

The entablature above the columns, with its architrave, frieze, and
cornice, follows the classic form very closely, and is enriched in every
member. Particularly interesting are the birds, the crosses, and other
figures in the spaces between the modillions and the heavy scroll of the
frieze. The drill has been very freely used throughout, and gives a
pleasant sparkle to the work.

In the second and fourth intercolumniations there are doorways with
moulded jambs, lintels, and cornices, but only