Santa Sofía Reviews

It is a great building. Don't forget to visit there. Amazing architecture.

Visiting Istanbul?, this is the place you must put on the first list. Please be noted, the museum closed every Monday.

Amazing architecture. Great historic building. Renovation works taking place so we didn't get to appreciate it fully.

The most magnificent place. Mixture of different traditions cultivating in time. You want to visit any place in Istanbul let "Agya Sophia" the first place to amuse you. You need a lot of time to digest the beauty and the art work of this place.

Walk through history and let your mind transport you back through the ages. Restorations are in progress revealing more of the Christian / Islamic past

Get a private tour guide, learn about the history, it's amazing

Beautiful! Don't waste your money on getting a guide, just wait in line to pay for your tickets and definitely do not use the cash machine there.

The architecture and the interior is exquisite. However, currently due to renovation works, a lot of sides are closed.

The famous basilica-come-mosque-come-museum. Ancient as the city itself, it is the main attraction here.
There were some restorations around the main hall so we could not see 100% of the museum. However, the building is wonderful and you can smell the history there.
Plan 2 hours for the museum.

Hagia Sophia Museum ( Once a Church, then Mosque and now Museum). At this place, different history and cultures can be found.
Hagia Sophia,'The Church of the Holy Wisdom', was build in the 4th century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople. Hagia Sophia functioned as church till 29 May 1453.
Higia Sophia served as the principal mosque of Istanbul for almost 500 years with no major structural changes at first except adding amihrab(prayer niche), minbar(pulpit) and a wooden minaret made a mosque out of the church.
In 1934, Hagia Sofia was secularized and turned into Museum. Its interior showcases Byzantine mosaics and marble ornamentation, and shines a light on 10th-century Roman leaders.

Magnificient... It served as a church for a century, then half a century as a mosque and since 1935 with the request of Ataturk turned into a museum. Amazing architecture! It has been built in 5 years according to one research.

A very crucial place in Istanbul. Learned a lot from this place. It s a must

A beautiful amalgamation of Islam and Christianity. I would advise visiting the place in the evening to avoid crowds. We visited the museum at 6 pm and there were only 3-4 people in the queue before us compared to a queue of hundreds earlier in the day.

Hagiasofia or Ayasofya Mosque(after 1453), whatever you name it. It is one of the greatest architectural magnum opus in the world and has whitnessed hundreds of years of 3 big empires which ruled the world in their times.
From the first step in, you will be inspired with the greatness of the building and the details will capture you and take to those empires, since every empire and even every king or sultan has left his signature to the building in a way where you will observe it.
I recommend you to read a lot about the history of Ayasofia, then visit it, so you won't miss the important details. Or a guide will be helpfull.
If you have a list of "places to visit", put Ayasofia on the top of the list.

Breathtaking! I should have gotten a guide - because there isn t too much text on anything. It s expensive to get in 70-100 lira, but majestic buildings cost bananas! @thedabbling

Amazing historical place to visit! Love the history and the chance to first hand experience the whole place.

This massive Cathedral was converted into a Mosque, its rich history is matched by its intricate design and interior. Presently under partial renovation, it is located near another historical landmark, the Blue Mosque.

I really enjoyed my day,you will not understand you are in Masjed or church :), it is recommended to Hire a tour guide during your visit since it is avoiding you to stand in the tickets line and also for better understanding about the historic background of the Museum.

Outstanding artwork. Must see. Pity photos are not allowed inside.

Historical place. Very calm although so many people crowded. U also can eat local bread and buy somenpostcard at here,at infront of sophia museum

High recommended for you who want to learn about the history of byzantium and turkey era.

Beautiful old church-turned-mosque. It was being restored when I visited but still, stunning and full of history.

There's a grumpy cat inside that's worth the visit. Everything else was impressive as well.

Another Must See !
A Church converted into a Mosque !
It's really beautiful and breathtaking.
I love how there is a mural of the virgin Mary and the names of the Islamic prophets on the same ceiling next to each other.

Love the architecture and the mix between the Christian and Muslim influence. Worth seeing.

Historic monument which was partialy under construction

A lot of history and religions in the same place!
Exactly in the heart of Istanbul!

Beautiful, though it was undergoing reconstruction. A great blend of cultures

Great place to see the history of the country and all the religions that came through it

Truelly impressive building with amazing accostiscs from the second floor, video explanation can be watched from ground floor. Even with current renovations this building does not fail to impress. Definately one of the many must. see sites in Istanbul b uvula

It is beautiful and a place of history. Worth renting a tour guide's services, too, especially concerning the folk elements found throughout the ages. A big part of the temple / mosque / museum is being renovated and not available to access, but still. An architectural marvel that everyone needs to see.

One of the great temple in the world, and read history of the temple where now call blue mosque, but before conguer turkis army the name is hagia sofia church. Better now give the temple to the christians because they have this from 2000 years ago.

Beautiful, historic building, but in a bit of disrepair. It is currently undergoing preservation a bit at a time, but it is clear that it has not been kept up. Keep that in mind as you visit. Still worth a visit inside.

A unique place in the world ..now a museum it used to be a church which became a Mosque......

Hagia Sophia, the famous world wide well known mosque, what I can say about, it's a piece of art, it's one of the most beautiful mosques i have ever seen or even heard about, that's all what I can say about this amazing mosque, that was just a water drop in a huge ocean of words i wanna say. AMAZING

A must see in Istanbul. Very impressive historical monument.

This is an amazing historical place. I was here only for an hour, but I think it was not enough. It s good to spend much time here in order to feel how heroic of Islam sacrificed to take over this place, not only to see how beautiful it is. Don t miss the second floor because it s really while worth, you can also see the blue mosque from the windows in the second floor, it s really beautiful in the shiny day.

This building is currently undergoing some restoration work, but it's still absolutely stunning and interesting from a historical perspective. It's definitely not something you want to miss something if visiting Istanbul.

Just Magnificent! Stuning from the outside and marvelous in the interio!

a surreal experience walking inside an old church turned mosque and now museum.

It's a very nice place to go with your family and friends

A must watch in Istanbul. Historical and cultural place.

My dreams come true and excitement reached its highest point

A must see place in Istanbul take a museum pass for 85 liras and enjoy it with Topkapi and other museum for free

All i can say is - 'you need to go there, you need to'

Impressive museum with a long history. It s sad to see that it s been covered from a church to a mosque and ruined the beauty and purpose of it, since not it s categorized under museum .

Audio guide was not helpful, find some people to explain the history of this wonderful place for you.

There are not enough words to describe this masterpiece!!! You have to go and see this place!! One of the must things to do in your life!!

Extremely beautiful and breathtaking from the moment you step in. The climb to the first level is a bit tough and quite steep but the view from there is worth it. There are no steps to reach to the first floor but an incline. The walk down from there is relatively easier. Few frescos are still in the process of being uncovered and restored. Cat lovers shouldn t miss Gli the cat who lives in the premises.
The queue for entry can be very long so it s better to book tickets in advance or buy a museum pass. There s a shorter and faster queue for those availing services of a guide. This is a must visit place in Istanbul

Nice place for travellers. Only for art and history lovers.

Stunning. There is an upper floor for viewing as well, however need to go up by many stone ramps, which are quite slippery.

Not as spectacular as I have imagined it and with lots of repair works going on.

One of the 6 wonder of antient world. Just magnificent. One of a very few place in the world that has Christian and Muslim art ubder the same roof.

Currently undergoing restoration, you cannot see the entire church turned mosque turned museum as parts of the interior are hidden behind restoration panels. Check the travel forums and their website for when the restoration activities will be complete before planning your trip! Visited 28th April 2019.

Amazing place currently under restoration, still need to pay 40 lt to get inside.