Santa Sofía Reviews

Must visit in Istanbul, very big and great historical building. Price for entrance: 60 tl, 8 eur.

Still under construction not much can see.

But the history is awesome,

A must see placw when you visit Istanbul. A historic and beautiful place.

Hagia Sophia - one of the world's greatest buildings. Exceptional!

It's an amazing place to visit. You can't come to Istanbul without visiting it

Church and a mosque in the historical past in the same building...a rare sight...currently a museum

Ideal example of history, culture and tolerance summing up under one roof. A lot to learn for Muslims and Christians of current era. Words can not describe the feelings.

Huge and has calligraphy show, but some of it is under construction, for 40 lira they should consider a discount.

Beauty and presence plus a world of time equals stunning

A short walk from The Blue Mosque. The interior 's laid out in marble. Parts of the infrastructure under restoration works. Make a wish at the weeping column

Crowded but important. You must see Hagia Sophia if you ever get the chance. Although currently not enough is made of the ancient architects and builders it is stunning to see this place, nearly as big as the Superdome in New Orleans but built 1500 years ago - with a wheel chair accessible ramp! So much was lost of the religious icons from the first thousand years, but still almost overwhelming even with extensive scaffolding as we have now. I wish they would put a toilet over Enrico Dandolo's burial spot.

It's lovely as always but since it's been changed back to a mosque, very little is open to explore.

Very interesting museum. The audio tour is pretty good.

Amazing building and history. 900+ years a church, 400+ years a mosque and now a museum for most of the last century!

Must visit place in Istanbul full of history. From the top you can see the Blue Mosque which is right in front of it.

Beautiful mosque/church. The color changes according to different times of the day. I am amazed it is still standing after 1500 years. The inside tiles is being restored. Go up from the side of the building to get closer to some of the details on the higher walls. Euro 72 entrance fee. If you are in a hurry, there is a fast track ticket at Euro 102. Depending on the crowd, you may save anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

You have to visit the place get a tour guide as well

A beautiful, one of a kind monument - a must-see in Istanbul. Recommend going early in the morning when they open to avoid the crowds. It seems like they do some renovations during the off season, but doesn't detract too much from the experience. The audio guide is a little pricey, but definitely worth it as there aren't any posted descriptions. Be sure to look out the windows on the second floor, some great views of the Blue Mosque!

Hagia Sophia with its ultimate beauty and grandeur does not need recommendations... It is a World Heritage.. May many generations to come have the chance to experience it..

A definate visit when in Istanbul! Such a beautiful mosque/church with many hidden secrets.

The very big and nice musium, but still under construction.

Amazing!! Beautiful!! Shame about the long queue in 35 degrees heat outside!! Get there early and beat the queues!!

Excellent experience great historical place. Lots of historic monuments. If you are history lover you must be visit to this place.

The crowds fight you for a view over the ledge and into the center of Hagia Sophia but it s worth the fight and there s really nothing like it. There s a lot of stuff that may be more impressive in scale today, but almost no where that s as impressive as it was in its day.

This is really an incredible place and I am deeply saddened that it is no longer fully accessible to the public now that it has become a mosque. When I visited several years ago I remember being able to see much more than I could when I visited in December 2020. I hope they turn it into a museum again.

This is highly recommended to visit while in Istanbul. A church converted in a mosque. Eventhough they did quite much work to change it, you still have many parts were it is visible that was a church before which make it unique. As we find it really interesting we also rented a tour guide to show us more about it.

Breathtaking. Just that.

Get a Museum Pass from the gallery in the Hippodrome square to avoid the crowds.

I want to go there !
Really Excited About it when i heard about it...

A must-visit historical site that needs no introduction. Lots of places to hang out around the museum.

Beautiful place a great mix of Muslim and Christianity cultures, it's a great place to see the beautifull work on high ceilings but a good tour guide will make things better as you can then relate to stories faster

I was amazed at this place. It will be an unforgettable place for who loves history. I was surprised that they kept it that well-kept. It might be crowded a bit but I decided to wait until I enter. And definetely, it worths. And it was really expensive for foreigners in Turkish liras.

One of the most wonderful places and a must-see in Istanbul! Coming from a very complicated and amzing history of being church and then a mosque. Appearing in the heart of Istanbul as a witness of big battles and big coups which this city experienced so far!

Amazing. And really worth trying to get a local guide to take you round. Our guide was superb and explained so many things that we just would not have spotted if we had been on our own. He went at a relaxed pace which was perfect for our group. Really interesting to see the transformations as the building went from temple, to church, to mosque and now a museum.

It was interesting to see it. Unfortunately under construction in some parts.

The one and only religious heart of Istanbul. Entrance costs like 72 YTR or 11,5 EUR. You can pay for it in kiosks with credit card, avoiding the queues.

Absolutely fantastic place. There is pretty much all the time restoration work going on inside and outside. Cant wait to see it without the scaffoldings...

Very beautiful. Both from outside and inside. Please use a guide as that will make your journey even better. When i visited, unfortunately, it was undergoing restoration but still it was mesmerising.

The adhan (Muslim prayer call) is lauched five times a day from the loudspeakers of this lovely "museum" :-))

Good to see the 5th century Church/15th century Mosque /20th century Museum in perfect condition

It was nice but half of the museum was under construction. It was not mentioned while buying the ticket.

Wonderful historical place people doesnt know this places value

Amazing place with lots of western and eastern ornaments. Should be visited in Istanbul. Mesmerizing!

Everyone should visit this place once in a lifetime

Make sure you arrive early enough because there are many visitors. It worths the visit, especially if you are fond of history

Big part covered in scaffolding unfortunately at the time of visit (inside) but otherwise beautiful and impressive

Marvelous of marvelous
A place with rich history
It was church, later converted to mousque and the. Meusam, one thing definatly is admirable is when muslims converted it into Mosque, they didnot detroye its orignal condition however just painted it to hide images for prayer.
It contain many historical facts, once u visit better to hire a guide so u can get max info.
Must must visit place

Such a great museum with a beautiful garden outside

Amazing place. U cant visit turkey without checking this place

A great place to visit. Witness of many era of history. In start it was built as church in 537 AD. Till 1453 it was a church later on its become imperial mosque and later on its become museum. You will see christain and muslim signs, names and diffrent art work which refelects both religions. Its near to Blue mosque and top kopi palace. Very nice place to visit.

Huge. Really interesting. One of the new great wonders of the world. It was a witness of Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans and Turks. And each of them left something in the temple (there is even a Viking mark!).

A must in Istanbul

This is a nice spiritual place. You can track the influence of religions on it through time.

It's really amazing to see something do monumental that withstood the test of time for 1500 years. It's a shame that beautiful marble floors are now covered with carpet since this, once greatest church in the world, was yet again converted to the mosque. Take note to avoid prayer time to enter and you will need to take your shoes off so it would be good to carry plastic feet covers.

Hagia sophia mosque
You must visit him

Such a huge and amazing museum ! you will be drowned in the history , and make sure you visit the upstairs!

Amazing. It's an incredible place with so much history. Christian Church, turned Mosque, turned museum. Built in less than six years by the Eastern Roman Empire, amazing mosaics, high domes and just overall atmosphere.

I really cant wait to see the day this magnificent mosque to be re opened for islamic prayers 5 times a day. Let ayasfya be conquered once more! Hedef 2023!!!!

Wonderful place showing ISLAMIC RELIGION AND CHRISTIANITY IN SAME
PLACE

Its the only place where you will finding potraits and carvings of the two religions, Christianity and Islam

This historic building has seen the best part of our history. Through several religions, races and centuries

You walk in and you re just in awe of everything. There s scaffolding blocking half of the main hall for restorative work, but it s still just amazing. A must in Istanbul. Try to go early as the lines get REALLY long to get in!