"We see on the right another of the churches mentioned by Tryphon, that of St. Demetrius Kanabu. Although the present church dates only to 1730 at the earliest, its origins go back to Byzantine times, for a church of that name is known to have existed on this site as early as 1334. It is suggested that the church may have been founded by the family of Nicholas Kanabu, who became emperor for a few days in April 1204, in the brief interval between the deposition of the co-emperors Alexius IV and Isaac II and the later usurpation by Alexius V. St. Demetrius served as the Patriarchal church from 1597 until 1601, when the Patriarchate moved to its present site."
Hilary SUMNER-BOYD and John FREELY, Strolling through Istanbul, London, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2010 [1972], p. 308.
Church of Kanabus is well localized on 19th century map.
F.R. VON HUBNER, Map of Byzantine Constantinople, in A. VAN MILLIGEN, Byzantine Constantinople: The Wall of the City, London, John Murray, 1899, p. 18
The Walls of Blacherbae connect the Theodosian Walls, which terminate at the height of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, with the sea wall at the Golden Horn. Historically, the original fortified quarter of Blachernae can thereby be roughly traced to have comprised the two northern spurs of the city's Seventh Hill in a triangle, stretching from the Porphyrogenitus Palace to the Anemas Prison, from there to the church of St. Demetrios Kanabos and thence back to the Porphyrogenitus Palace
The section of the Theodosian Walls that adjoins the walls of Blacherbae, with the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus in the background.
St Demetrius and Wall
The known gates of the Golden Horn wall may be traced in order from the Blachernae eastwards to the Seraglio Point, as follows: The first gate, very near the land walls, was the Koiliomene Gate (Κοιλιωμένη Πόρτα, "Rolled Gate", in Turkish Küçük Ayvansaray Kapısı). Shortly after stood the Gate of St. Anastasia (Πύλη τῆς ἁγίας Ἀναστασίας, Pylē tēs hagias Anastasias), located near the Atik Mustafa Pasha Mosque. In close proximity on the outer side of the walls lay the Church of St. Demetrios Kanabos.
Walls of Blachernae
"The section of the Theodosian Walls that adjoins the walls of Blachernae, with the Palace of Porphyrogenitus in the background, as they appear today in suburban Istanbul.
The Walls of Blachernae connect the Theodosian Walls, which terminate at the height of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Turkish: Tekfur Sarayı), with the sea wall at the Golden Horn. They consist of a series of single walls built in different periods, which cover the suburb of Blachernae. Generally they are about 12–15 meters in height, thicker than the Theodosian Walls and with more closely spaced towers. Situated on a steep slope, they lacked a moat, except on their lower end towards the Golden Horn, where Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos had dug one.
The question of the original fortifications in this area has been examined by several scholars, and several theories have been proposed as to their course. It is known from the Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae that the XIV region, which comprised Blachernae, stood apart and was enclosed all around by a wall of its own. Further it is recorded that originally, and at least as late as the Avar siege of 626, when they were burned down, the important sanctuaries of Panagia Blachernitissa and St. Nicholas lay just outside the quarter’s fortifications. Traces of the quarter’s walls have been preserved, running from the area of the Porphyrogenitus Palace in straight line to the so-called Prison of Anemas. The original fortified quarter can thereby be roughly traced to have comprised the two northern spurs of the city’s St. Demetrios Kanabos and thence back to the Porphyrogenitus Palace. These fortifications were apparently older than the Theodosian Walls, probably dating to sometime in the 4th century, and were then connected to the new city walls under Theodosius II, with the western wall forming the outer face of the city’s defences and the eastern wall fell into disrepair."
(http://www.whereist.com/blachernae/)
Doğan Kuban, Istanbul, an urban history: Byzantion, Constaninopolis, Istanbul, Türkiye İş Bankasi Kültür yayınları, 2010, p. 62
“Considerable interest is attached to the Church of St. Demetrius, situated within the walls a few paces to the east of Atik Mustapha Pasha Djamissi ; for although the present edifice dates only from the beginning of the eighteenth century, the original building was a Byzantine foundation, adorned with mosaics and surmounted by a dome. Its full style was the Church of St. Demetrius of Kanabus, and may, as the Patriarch Constantius suggests, have been erected by a member of the family of the Nicholas Kanabus who became emperor for a few days, in the interval between the overthrow of the Angeli and the usurpation of Murtzuphlus, during the troublous times of the Fourth Crusade.
In 1334, the church was the property of George Pepagomenos, a relative of Andronicus III. After the Turkish Conquest the church became, from 1597 to 1601, the cathedral of the Greek Patriarch, when he was deprived of the use of the Church of the Pammakaristos (Fethiyeh Djamissi).”
(A. Van Millingen, Byzantine Constantinople: The Walls of the City, London, John Murray, 1899, p. 197-198. See: https://archive.org/stream/byzantineconstan00vanm#page/n7/mode/2up)
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