Santa Sofía Review

You can't visit Istanbul without having a look at this unique mixture of traditions.
Warning: cash only!

Great museum! I recommend going in with a tour guide. You don t have to wait in the line and the explanation is a must!

The 6th century Hagia Sophia museum is a must do in Istanbul. The church which is converted into a mosque is now museum. The building has a beautiful architecture and famed for its mosaics... This museum is one of its kind. It was church before then turned into mosque in 1400 and then into a museum for people to see and learn history.. The sheer volume of the space is awesome.

It was interesting to learn about the history of the museum.

If Haghia Sophia is not a proof that Muslims are civilised, I don't know what is

It was alright, a museum as expected but I was disappointed that that there was no (clear) place to pray in, knowing that it s a mosque and all.

Loved this place. One of the treats of the world. It costed me 85 liras for 5 day entry to the museum and the palace. Can take many beautiful pictures inside as well as outside. Highly recommend going and spending an hour or two.

The queues are real, tales around 30mins if you arrive in the morning! Lots of offers to skip the line and guided tour. Once rejected these men turned sour and vile towards us. Inside, half was under renovation, but the mixture of orthodox and islamic objects are very interesting.

The place is amazing, just 40 TL seems too expensive for visiting one place that takes around 45 mins to visit all parts

Really praying there is a good thing felling better

excessive control for no reason. Sad to see this beautiful greek building,destroyed by other cultures.

Beautiful building, enterior even better. Top atraction in Istanbul. You must come early because the queue is always big.

The Hagia Sophia: from a basilica to a mosque and finally a museum ... it remains a place of pilgrimage for all religions ... those who adore God ... and those who adore Culture

This is an amazing building. Worthwhile getting there early before it gets full. We got in at opening and there were relatively few people for the first 30 minutes.

visited it before its transformation into a mosque. ts magnificient structure. Who he built it he must have been a master

Beautiful church which was turned into a mosque. Intricate details preserved through time. Must visit.

Wow! Beautiful place with a great atmosphere. One of the best tourist attractions anywhere!

Church then a mosque then a museum. Architecture designs are more than awesome. Very astonishing place. There are too many colorful gardens outside the place which add another happiness to the visitors.
Recommended to visit.

A memorizing experience to feel from the minute you enter, you can feel the importance to both the Muslim and Christian religions

Lose yourself in history and dream of people living and praying a millennium ago. Pagans, Byzantines, Christians and Muslims. Rulers and public. Royal races. Wins and losses. Amazing human history is right here embedded at Hajia Sophia

Quite interesting as you can see the way it changed from being a cathedral to a mosque

Beautiful architecture, religious mosaics and calligraphy and history.

Proud of Muslims.
My Dream to Visit Many Times

Hagia Sophia is such a place to visit ! Firstly a cathedral, a moque, the monument has a rich history. Ticket of 90TL, less expensive if you buy a pass museum for 185TL (31 ). Due to long lines, get up early ! You can hire an official guide on place.

Nice and beautiful museum however we had to wait a lot in the row to enter it
So if you want to visit it you should go as early from the open hours as possible

It nice place, I thought there's something interesting to me but Unfortunately it a church history and to pay 60 lira for it nah I dont think it work that money!

August 2019. Some pics of inside and outside the famous Hagia Sophia Museum, which used to be a Catholic Church years back and then a Mosque before becoming the museum. Again another structure that is under restoration/renovation. It just didn't have that feeling for me...I expected something much more. The picture Mosaics were sadly dilapidated, and hence they are trying to preserve what's left. It's a massive structure so you can easily clock up many steps inside, and the inclines to get to the different levels are definitely a workout. Makes you wonder how people got around inside those years back. Outside its buzzing with people, and it's also the stop for the hop on/off busses. The queues can get really long so just check different times of the day, we managed to catch a rather shorter queue. Its a definite must see when visiting. But what you take from the visit for each person is different.

The fountain is quite the spectacle as it's fun watching the kids playing with the water and getting the rainbow effect if the sun is shining or even if you standing nearby you get sprayed with water with a slight wind.

The food stalls around this area are constantly busy and I would watch in amazement the people selling the roasted corn and chestnuts as well as the Bagels..

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It is a holy magnificent place. Once, arrived into the building got so much focus and highly energised.

Interesting combination of Christian and Muslim artwork

Beautiful Mosque. Amazing recitation of the Imam and open for visitors aswell.

My whole life i waited to see this and it didn't disappoint it is as magical and beautiful as i always imagined

While the construction was a bit of an eyesore, I understand why it's there. This place is absolutely gorgeous inside and out, so I would definitely recommend anyone stopping in Istanbul to visit it! It's worth it even with the construction, which of course is there to keep it looking it's best!

No words to describe the feeling and the beauty of this wonderful church
May God bless always

This is the world heritage, maa shaa Allah so beautiful

Very interesting items in exhibit. It was partially closed for renovation. I was sad that Alexander sarcophagus was not in display. But still there were lots of things to see. This place is split in multiple buildings with different themes for exhibit. There is also a nice cafe in the patio for a break. This place you can also buy Istanbul pass which works in many sights and museums around Istanbul.

Very chill place, i did some drone shots from this area, you can find it @madbirdfly on Instagram

One of the best experiences I had in Istanbul highly recommend this to others.

Looove this museum! One of the must in Istanbul Not only the beautiful architecture of the museum, but also the diverse history happened here and strongly recommend getting a tour guide explaining the rich history of this one and only Hagia Sophia. Also don t forget to check out this adorable adorable cat - Gli who lives in there she is a treasure!

Nice museum, lots of history, but the entry fees are high regarding to what you see inside.

Beautiful... mind blowing if u enjoy stepping back into time .

Its historical background, being first a cathedral and then a mosque is invaluable

They say, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to revert Hagia Sophia to a mosque and I hope it's only a tasteless April Fool.

What a beautiful building! The colours, architecture and intelligence that has gone into making this Mosque is just incredible.

We had a guided tour with jump the queue entry. Highly recommend this as it is very informative. If you only have a short time in Istanbul then jump the queue tours are what you need, otherwise you re going to miss out on so much.

One of the most beautiful Places in the World
Is very interesting museum

the building is very beautiful and full of history. love to visit this place

Worth spending 1-2 hours here with a tour guide to get the full history! (Plus if there's a long queue, a guide helps you skip the line)

Roman masterpiece. Architecture and engineering at its best.

I have visited hagia sophia as a museum and a mosque and what i liked is that the entrance is now free. The carpet color i did not like but you should watch out to take your shoes off before you go in and to be wearing something decent. The frescos above are not open yet but i was told the above floor will be open shortly.

in love with this place when with you are with your love of life

The earliest example of a cathedral in Christian world.

One of the most beautiful buildings I've ever been in. Totally worth it.

Not much to say about this one. It speaks dor itself once visited. No point describing

The entrance fee is 90TRY. And audio rental price is 30TRY. I chose Korean because I am from Korean. Anyway, I got some good information.

It was a Christian Church till Ottoman changed it to a mosque it has so much history !

Cant believe this place is still preserved so properly!!

It's much more beautiful now as a Camii (Masjid/Mosque) than it was as a museum

I had an incredible experience visiting this museum - the Mosque which unites two different and the biggest religions in the world: Islam and Christianity.

Splendid.
Some area are being renovated, might take months or years to finish.

One of The best constructed historical places of Istanbul

Hagia Sophia is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in AD 537 at the beginning of the Middle Ages, it was famous in particular for its massive dome.