Santa Sofía Reviews

Very beautiful..Situated close to Blue mosque .. Paid 40 Turkish lira for entry ticket ..lots of renovation work in progress ..Suggest one to take the audio guide instrument for more information..one should not miss to visit the upper Gallery..

Pure history. Area is nice to walk. Good restaurants around

A really wonderful place, amazing to look at and to appreciate all the history that has happened here

Worth to visit real history treasure. Tour guide waiting outside the queue. 20min your with tickets (60 Lt) in total for two 300lt.

One thing I didn't expect was the sheer size of it when you look at it from inside. And this was built 1500 yrs ago. Of course it must have been the 8th wonder of the world with its mosaics of gold had it not been ruined by Ottomans by plastering over masterpieces and painting. Nevertheless, this should be the first thing you visit in Constantinople/Istanbul.

Everything was good but they readded the crosses and the Christian artifacts

The renovations take away from the otherwise incredible experience. A must see nonetheless.

Amazing place, definitely worth visiting with a guide

Museum looks nice with its historical touch in interiors . Good place for those who like historical places.

Hugely significant historically and massively impressive physically.

Amazing place, two religion in one place, love it and will go again

You can't believe the feeling when you enter this place, your stay in Turkey will not be completed without visit this place

A cathedral turned mosque with significant historical importance

It is a must if you are in Istanbul. You have to pay to enter, although you can buy a Museum Pass card for 5 days of you are staying for several days. You can pay for a guide or for an audio guide (cheapest option) to get to know the history of the building. Simply amazing.

It is amazing how different civilizations can be seen in one place!

Wonderful place. Have to see. I recommend to visit with a professional guide. There are a lot of detail to know.

Must be visited. Only regret, it's under internal refurbishing

Not much to look at on the outside but incredible on the inside. Recommend paying for fast track to bypass the line and the audio tour is really good and informative.

So many visitors. You can use a museum pass for faster que. Everyone should visit this place, even you like the history or not.

Definitely a place you should visit. They were doing reparations when i was there but still you can access everything with no problem. The building itself is very impressive but also you can learn a lot about history there!

The best building. Its combine between church and mosque.

Try leaving this place without saying WOW once at least... Amazing

Nice piece of history. Good amalgamation of christianity and Islam

The world's largest dome for 500 years. Only to be surpassed by St. Peter's in the Vatican. Simply incredible history and architecture.

Incredible experience visiting this historic site. Inside is huge and it is hard to believe how they did this all those years ago. Mosaics were fascinating. We lined up and were the first ones in. Was lovely.

Not only is it beautiful, but you also get to understand how turkey truly is with religions, which is also beautiful.

A must visit in Istanbul. Please come early and book a ticket at the fast forward queue. It's with the extra 30 Liras and get an audio guide.

Amazing how this place has history over centuries and we're only discovering more.

Ezcellently maintained. Restorations are still going on.

Great news! They have recently installed 2 machines for purchasing tickets with a credit card. The current price of entry as of August, 2019, is 72 TL. Such a beautiful place.

Absolutely incredible, easily my favourite building in the world. Worth coming to Istanbul just to see this.

Picked up a guided tour from the licenced chaps that were outside the gates touting for customers. I'm sure this varies massively but he was pretty knowledgeable and worth it to get some useful titbits. Tour was a bit of the brisk side, but then these guys are looking to get throughput.

Otherwise there's tons of information and Audio guides available (although you pay for these separately. Decent food and drinks stalls in the complex as well.

Currently there's a lot of scaffolding up inside which sounds like it will be there for a fair while. Doesn't make it any less impressive.

It's a must visit place in Istanbul.

Designer : Isidore of Miletus
Anthemius of Tralles

I like the moisac all over the architecture

Shame that I didn t read much on the history before the trip but the audio helps a lot

Its very nice but tickets cost is 75 TL per person ..

Ticking off a bucket list.
Exotic mix.

You can feel the time and the force of the people who construct this monument and the power of Islamic expansions.

Beautiful. A must see. Even more so than the Blue Mosque.

Such a beautiful ancient historical place constains a long Byzantine and ottoman history.

Ancient church , converted to a mosque. Now a mesueum. It's huge .

I loved Sophia Hagia! Although also currently being renovated, there are many points of interest within. Cats abound in Istanbul and there are a couple inside the mosque, ready to pose. It's spectacular and awe-inspiring, with marble of all shades everywhere. Every nook and cranny has something different to show you...from the rickety wooden stairs that were used to clean, fix and refurbish parts of the building, to the wishing column and beautiful mosaic in tiny gold squares of Jesus. I just wish there had been fewer tourists and an opportunity to sit quietly in contemplation.

Pretty cool. Keep an eye out for ancient norse runes carved into the marble.

Historical knowledge empowerment
Hagia Sophia once was a Basilica than a Mosque and now a historical museum.
It has a unique combination of interior design on the walls, a combination of Christian pictures and Islamic arabesques.
There is a belief that the wish of one who puts a finger in a hole in a column in Hagia Sophia, known as the "tear column", will be fulfilled, if one manages to turn the finger in it for 360 degrees.
According to another belief, when the dome of Hagia Sophia collapsed in the earthquake, 300 priests went to Mecca, and from the Zem-Zem water and the land found there, they made the plaster and put under this pillar. It is believed that because of thet the column is always damp.

A brilliant place which personifies wat Istanbul stands for - a perfect mixture of ancient and medieval history.

Amazing tourist destination. Fairly crowed to be careful with young children

Can you say: Wonder of the World! Just do it and take your time to enjoy!

Outstanding Architecture combining both Christianity N Moslem culture

Breath taking museum, everything has a rich meaning.

It was everything that I read about and what I had expected.

I booked a tour, which was amazing. The tour guide had an Indepth understanding of the museum. It's a must see.

Go to a restaurant called the Seven Hills for amazing terrace pics. They allow people to take pictures without having to eat in the restaurant.

One of the most important historic place which is highly recommended if you are interested in history

Alongside glata tower, best 2 touristic places in my opinion

its a church in bizanthium era.. then converted to mosque in ottoman era, then a museum this day.. its quite unique.. because the ottoman preserve what its left from the church era.. even its operational as a mosque at ottoman.. because moslem have to respect other religious places, even its ottoman era..

A must see museum. The stories about the Hagia Sophia is something to read about.

Beautiful historical landmark, must see when visiting Istanbul

Azize Sofia Church, Latin: Sancta Sophia or Sancta Sapientia) is a historical museum in Istanbul. It was a basilica-planned patriarchal cathedral built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the center of the old city on the historical peninsula of Istanbul between 532 and 537. It was converted into a monument by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 after the capture of Istanbul by the Ottomans. It has been serving as a museum since 1935. [2] Hagia Sophia is a domed basilica type building that combines the plan of the basilica with the central plan in architectural terms and is considered as an important turning point in the history of architecture with the features of the dome passage and the supporting system.

The architecture and the history behind this is a must see if visiting Turkey

Fantastic place to visit. You need to be patient on the long queue at the entrance kiosk to purchase ticket. It's moving so slow and I came across with a very rude and impolite attendant .