Santa Sofía Reviews

I love it, but need a guide to understand the history of this amazing place! I strongly recommend it!!!!!!

If you are in Istanbul Hagia Sophia is a must see. If you plan to visit Topkapi palace and/or other museums I strongly suggest you get combo ticket or museum pass.

If you were to narrow down to a single reason to visit Istanbul, this would be it.
Massive, imposing and breathtakingly beautiful. The architecture and scale is impressive and leaves one awestruck.
Don't forget to go upstairs to view the ancient murals now being restored. They are stunning.

Beautiful History ! Long queues so buy your Museum Pass in advance !

nice place tell you about the heritage and culture of Turkey it is amazing museum

Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Highly recommended to visit if you are in Istanbul. Not to be missed!

Incredible! !!! The monument will leave you awestruck! !! Takes you back in... must visit ... some parts of it might be under restoration but that takes nothing off the majestic it of the place.. perhaps the most majestic piece of architecture to rival the taj in India.

An absolute must do of Istanbul. A shame that part of the building is currently under works.

Awesome place. Long line up. At least 1 hour of line up.

The maintenance is not really good. It is a shame because the building is full of history.

A must see in Istanbul. You can feel the centuries here.

One of the grandest and oldest buildings ever seen! It was built in 537! Yes 537! It has served as a church for about 1000 years and as a mosque for about 500 years. It gave me goose bumps to visit this grand building when I think of all it has witnessed. Walking on worn marble where emperors and sultans once have walked on is an amazing feeling.

It's under restauration. Nice but for the visit is not so beautifull

Very nice historic place, would have loved to be kept a church.

You can practically feel the history just being in this place, it clearly reflects the different periods and Empires it has seen.

Absolutely beautiful. A trip to Istanbul without a visit here would be remiss. Give yourself plenty of time (at least an hour, more during the summer) and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Stunning architecture! Great photo opportunity for bloggers and travelers in general.

Nice view and artefacts. But the English could be improvedm

Design and built with marbles flooring and walls, this mosque Hagia Sofya is one of the epic history of Byzantine.

If you are going to visit Istanbul, I really recommend you to visit Hagia Sophia. It is one of the most important touristic attraction of Istanbul. It is open everyday, including Mondays, 09:00 am to 06:00 pm. You need to pay some money to enter it. You may wait for some queue, so I recommend you to adjust your timing.

Promoting unity between Church and Mosque ! That s what this impressive place get to tell over centuries

Great heritage landmark with much historical significance.A must see!

If you want photographer send me dm in instagram @naturgen

breathtaking! nothing can describe the feeling you get when you cross that deformed marble threshold into the church.when you visit you will feel it yourself.
totally worth the long wait in line, totally worth the admission price and by far the most awe inspiring building i have ever been inside and that includes the great pyramid. i just wish there was no maintenance work going on inside, but even with almost half the church closed to the public, you feel overwhelmed

If you are visiting ISTANBUL then you should pay a visit to the Hagia Sophia Museum

Hagia Sophia was spectacular. It's got an amazingly rich history and an imposing, but incredible building. Ladies- make sure you are dressed very modestly: shoulders covered and long skirts/ pants.

A very good and mesmerizing place. Worth visiting. Has the history of nearly 1500 years

They are still doing repairs but they are really needed to keep this important very old piece of history alive and looking good.

This is an architectural marvel. A must see. You can skip the long queue by buying your ticket from a ticket machine past the barriers. No need to buy expensive fast track tickets!

After viewing Blue Mosque, we walked across to Hagia Sophia (the church of the holy wisdom). Hagia Sophia is a great beauty, an important monument for Byzantine and for Ottomon empire and a perfect synthesis to observe both under one dome - once a church, later a mosque and now a museum. Universally recognised as one of the great buildings in the world that holds so much of history, its interior is decorated with mosaics and marble pillars, covering of great artistic value.

Simply awe inspiring!!
It s one of the biggest pieces of art, one would ever see.

Wonderful museum it used to be a church then it transformed into mosque then a church then a mosque again and finally it become a museum.
So it containing different arts from the two religions at the same time.
Recently it's under restoration and should be ended in the next few months.
Beautiful and stunning place which must visit.

Great cultural experience as you visit this famous historic sight.

The Hagia Sophia is an enormous architectural marvel in Istanbul, Turkey, that was originally built as a Christian basilica nearly 1,500 years ago. Much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Parthenon in Athens, the Hagia Sophia is a long-enduring symbol of the cosmopolitan city. However, as notable as the structure is itself, its role in the history of Istanbul and, for that matter, the world is also significant and touches upon matters related to international politics, religion, art and architecture.

The marble used for the floor and ceiling was produced in Anatolia (present-day eastern Turkey) and Syria, while other bricks (used in the walls and parts of the floor) came from as far away as North Africa. The interior of Hagia Sophia is lined with enormous marble slabs that are said to have been designed to imitate moving water.

And, the Hagia Sophia s 104 columns were imported from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, as well as from Egypt.
The building measures some 269 feet in length and 240 feet in width and, at its highest point, the domed roof stretches some 180 feet into the air. When the first dome suffered a partial collapse in 557, its replacement was designed by Isidore the Younger (the nephew of Isidoros, one of the original architects) with structural ribs and a more pronounced arc, and this version of the structure remains in place today.

This central dome rests on a ring of windows and is supported by two semi-domes and two arched openings to create a large nave, the walls of which were originally lined with intricate Byzantine mosaics made from gold, silver, glass, terra cotta and colorful stones and portraying well-known scenes and figures from the Christian Gospels.

As Islam was the central religion of the Ottomans, the Hagia Sophia was renovated into a mosque. As part of the conversion, the Ottomans covered many of the original Orthodox-themed mosaics with Islamic calligraphy designed by Kazasker Mustafa zzet.
The panels or medallions, which were hung on the columns in the nave, feature the names of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, the first four Caliphs, and the Prophet s two grandsons.


Four minarets were also added to the original building during this period, partly for religious purposes (for the muezzin call to prayer) and partly to fortify the structure following earthquakes that struck the city around this time.

One of the best places I been ever. The history and the art is simply amazing!

The site was beautiful and calm. We visited late in the afternoon so not many other tourists were there. Remember to take your shoes off before entering any of the rooms, or else the staff will yell at you.

Y llar n eskitemedi i muazzam bir eser... this marvelous muzeum is very important and very impressive for everyone. Must see and smell the history in this magnificent place

Unfortunately during the times of war this wonderful church was converted into a mosque. But it just goes to show you how wonderful the Byzantine architecture was during their short lived period. Definitely a place to come and visit if you are in the area.

Pretty impressive and incredible ancient. But not much else to explore besides the grand room.

Great! One of the most important mosque in Istanbul.

Great architecture. Surprised to see such construction before 400 years

Must see site of Istanbul. Avoid when the large groups are there and it is even better

Impressive, but not the most impressive religious building in the world. Firenze, Milano and Barcelona are still ahead.

Often mindblowing the scale of the workmanship and vision of the Byzantine empire as well as the juxtaposition of early Christian and Muslim ideologies played out vividly in architechture and its adornment: well worth a visit!

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

A must visit, the architecture is amazing and it's worth the wait.

Unable to see many things as renovation was on progress.

A historical place, for history buff, audioguide or a tourist guide is highly recommended.

Audioguide will cost you anything between 15 Lira to 30 Lira. Tour guide just for Ayasofea is 90 Lira, but you don't have to que for tickets.

A day pass for 3 museums is 135 Lira per person (Archeological Museum, Tokapi Museum and Ayasofea Museum).

It was turned back into a mosque so hire an official tour guide. They will teach you so much. Beautiful, full of rich history, super impressive. Don't go to Istanbul and miss it.

Nice place, one can visit. Confluence of Christianity and Mogul religions.

A place that you must visit. Impressive. Wonderfull. You can feel the history. And you must return

what a place! one of from the great architectures in human history..... can't forget

Lovely Historic building, with professional tour service on offer (good way to jump the long que).

How can you not love this place, the selfies and photo shoots were a bit much but seeing beyond that, this is a place of peace and beauty!

Incredible, the views outside and inside are breathtaking. A must see for everyone.