Santa Sofía Reviews

Beautiful! First was a Christian church, then converted into Mosque, by removing the crosses and adding the minarets. Lately just a museum. It is a jewell

Great place
Crowded

The Hagia Sophia Museum is a amazing Byzantine mosque that has a glorious interior! Shows a lot of history and what a Byzantine-era mosque is like! Definitely Worth it!

Incredible building. Entry fee is 60 TL. If you are planning to buy Istanbul museum card, it's better to get in other places, because almost all the time printer is not working and you can not buy the card

Historic site for you to explore. Breathtaking architecture, art, history. One of the most amazing locations in Europe because of its long and contrived history.

Afternoon is the best time to visit .There are not so many people .

Must see for anybody who is interested in world history
Breathtaking building from 6th ! Century
Difficult to comprehend the complexity and size until inside
Mosaics !

The place where Islam meets Christianity fascinating

The mosque is enormous, and amazing architecture. Too bad when we visited, some of the area was under construction. If you want to visit this, come as soon as possible, because the ticket line is very long!

Magnificent piece of architecture. Some parts under restoration but nevertheless worth a visit.

It is an experience of a lifetime!
Like walking into an oil painting!
A guided tour will get you more info. But if you want to hang onto the history then read up on it before going. You will enjoy it more!

Just fine.. not so appealing, at least for me. However, there is a shop inside, which sells perfume, which is a must buy! Its amazing!

One of the gems in Istanbul!

Worth spending some money on an English guide to explain the history

Though there were attempts to displace and change some of the cosmatics of the structure to islamic but its still a GRAND church. A must see for every visitor to Istanbul thats well worth the long wait line.

Great place to see, be prepared for the ques to enter.

Visiting the Hagia Sophia Museum was one of the most breath-taking moments of my life as I witnessed with my own eyes the ancient Byzantine edifice and the many cultures that followed. The grandeur of this miraculous 8th World Wonder offers historical wonderment to its visitors. No words, illustrations, photos, books, or film can describe or capture the energy and power this peaceful, precious place radiates within its secure dome and sturdy thick fortified walls.

The English tour guide was kind, friendly, humorous, well spoken, professional, and most importantly knowledgeable which gave one an experience of a lifetime and not a just a tour. The pace of the tour was perfect, any and all questions were answered.

The facilities were well kept and clean. I would highly recommend this as a must see when visiting Istanbul.

A historical place I would love to visit it again...

One of the most wonderful places I've ever seen in my life,the surroundings the people and the food are great 9 out of 10 people speaks English so it's easy to get around, everything is reasonable in price and with so many other places to see makes this one of my favorite vacation spots.

A stunning place.. Piece of art..must see. Simple from outside and marvelous from inside.

While I enjoyed my visit to the Hagia Sophia I was left wanting more. The exterior is absolutely stunning but the interior doesn't quite live up to expectations.

Maybe it was the renovations that are ongoing or maybe it was just the day we visited but I didnt find myself blown away unlike when visiting Angkor Wat or the Coliseum.

Should you visit? Of course don't be silly. Just don't expect a true mind blowing visual experience. Focus instead on the history and the age of the building. The fact that for 1500 years some of the most famous people in the world have visited here.

Then with the history properly in place will you truly find Hagia Sophia mind blowing.

Wonderful place if you go there you will feel like a new spirit I mean this place is awesome

Amazing history. Love it. Looks outstanding with Christian and Muslim history.

Once I entered, I Missed the great times of sultan Muhammad al-fateh
A Sultan, a warrior, an Inventor, a Scientist, a worshiper
Too Much for a Man

Well maintained. Deep history to understand. Many movies shot at this place.

Special and mystical place where the walls speak of the brilliant history

Worth visiting Museum. Established by Byzantines, then destroyed due to fire, again established by Roman Empire.

Breath taking. Amazing arkitekture, interesting history. Dont let the long line rob you of tge experiense.

Beautiful place. Incredible history. Make sure you come prepared by reading up on historic significance.

Too much people, expensive and a lot of reconstruction going on. Nevertheless is a place full of history.

January 2019.
Very good and well preserved historic museum. At the gate you get a pass for TL 135 which covers 3 places : Hagia Sophia, Archeology museum, and Topkapi Palace.
The upstairs gallery is under construction.
The queue is pretty long at entrance though. I suggest going here on a rainy day when you can spend a few hours inside and skip the usual long queue as it is shorter during rain.

Must go. Appreciate the mosaic n the architectural design.

Great place.. Familiar.. Crowded... Imagination.. Inspiration.. Happy to visit it..

Surely a must see place for each and everyone on this planet. This is one of the most recognisable, most famous buildings in the world and certainly one of its kind.

The building is huge, housing numerous rooms, domes etc that it will take you hours to go through the entire place without missing the important parts.

Don t miss the beautiful mosaics, some of which are so hidden that you ll just missed them. The mosaics typically tell a story, one that brings you back to the ages when the Byzantine empire rules the western world post the Roman times.

Recommended!

Beautiful place inside and out
But I don t see the point of it.
It is famous for being a church turned into a mosque
Yet it is not a place of prayer
There is a tiny corner in the back where you pray in.

Amazing place, breathtaking, obliged visit. Art, history, science and religions mixed to marvel the human experience.

Superb architecture & a must visit place when visiting Turkey. The inside interior was very mesmerised.

Beautiful architect place to visit that takes you back to history!

Just wow.

Everything from the architecture to the scale of Hagia Sofia to the history. It was just incredible and I wish I could have spent more time there!

There is some construction in the middle of the mosque which isn't ideal but it's still a spectacular structure and I would highly recommend it!!

Wonderful place, even more during April when the Tulips are blooming

One of the most memorable places in the whole world. I think it is the only place where you see the names of Allah and Mohammad on the sides of Jesus and Mary.
Go early in the morning to avoid the rush of tourists who come from all over the world to visit this place. The waiting lines become too long in the day.

The Hagia Sophia is the incredibly impressive legacy of a past civilization and definitely deserves a five star rating. But there is a very distinct reason because of which I did not give it a five star review and that reason is that this beautiful architectural structure has been completely neglected. The moment you walk into that amazing monument you are both impressed and disappointed at the same time because you are just overwhelmed by the beauty of the wall paintings and engravings but you are also upset about the fact that there color has faded and that the walls look like they are basically falling apart. I hope that they start proper restorations soon.

An epitome of Byzantine architecture at its best. An inspiration to many mosques and buildings erected later in Constantinople in the following years.
A legacy of Byzantine Roman Empire endured the test of time and passed to the hands of modern Turkish folks as an indisputable landmark of Istanbul seen by the world. This heritage will continue to be carried on and appreciated for generations to come.

Liked it, full of history and Muslim/ Christian culture

Oh Hagia Sophia, my darling you are so beautiful. I'm so lucky to be able to see you. I advise all of you to visit this marvelous museum.

It's a wonderful space. It's hard to comprehend that they were able to build such a magnificent building as early as they did. The building has such an interesting history with it's change of usage. The mosaics are absolutely beautiful and I loved the chandeliers and the Viking graffiti. Well worth a visit and in walking distance of The Blue Mosque. Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar to name but a few.

Fantastic experience. Really quite astonishing place to visit. Would definitely recommend doing it with a guide to get the overview of the fascinating history behind the place and the architecture. Also the line can be quite intense so would recommend getting skip the line group tour

Aya Sofia.. One of the must to dos in the City of Istanbul. This monument is not just a monument of history but has served as a Church and Mosque subsequently. The rich culture of Turkey is preserved in this monument. This was my third time but if you would like to know more about history of Istanbul do take a guided tour which shouldn't cost you more than 30-40 TL per person. Combined could be cheaper too. Do visit!!

One of the most important monument in human history, is a incredible piece of architecture, culture, miracle and wonder!

It raises to expectations. Truly impressive attraction

A big beautiful church converted to mosque.now a museum

We visited in the evening and it was not so crowded.

I though it will be more interesting place but it was not . Waiting on line is unpleasant. Place is under construction

Great historic place. Represent the respect for cultural differences. Can find both the christian and islamic aspects of it