Santa Sofía Reviews

Well it's no more a mosque but a museum it's a mixed culture of byZantine and muskim

Beautiful museum and architecture..has the distinction of being a church and a mosque in the past.

Impressive. Immense. Mindblowing. All the beauty and understanding how old it is, in what environment and with what tools it was built, how much passion and prayers invested there and how many times the holy place has witnessed - all of this makes the difference, makes one care, fascinated.

Near Sultanahmet Mosque, just take a little walk. You need to buy a ticket of TRY 40. Great architecture.

Amazed by luxury where true of its meaning lies. A must visit place in Istanbul even if you're for few days.

Incredible architecture design with perfect view, inside there is a famous cat. And it has a wish stone.

Absolutely incredible building. Basilica turned Mosque turned Museum. Absolutely must see.

It's truly a great amazing place. History of this place is amazing.

The single most magical place in Istanbul. Art, history, politics, religion... All under the marvellous dome of Hagia Sophia. An absolute must see.

This is an incredibly important building in the history of civilization. And it's an impressive feat of engineering as well

An astonishing building that saw its beginning with the Christian emperors as a church, then maintained and converted into mosque by Ottoman emperors. A living sign of development in world.

Such a dissapointment. The line is not worth it. Don't see why other praise it so highly and recommend to visit this place. Defenitely not worth 60 tl and your time.

What an experience! Fascinating architecture and merge between Islam and Christianity. Cats live inside the church peacefully where one has been living for 14 years

Definitely I recommend visiting this place when in Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia, one of the historical architectural wonders that still remains standing today, has an important place in the art world with its architecture, grandness, size and functionality.

The Hagia Sophia, the biggest church constructed by the East Roman Empire in Istanbul, has been constructed three times in the same location. When it was first built, it was named Megale Ekklesia (Big Church); however, after the fifth century, it was referred to as the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). The church was the place in which rulers were crowned, and it was also the biggest operational cathedral in the city throughout the Byzantine period.

The first church was constructed by Emperor Konstantios (337-361) in 360. The first church was covered with a wooden roof and expanded vertically (basilica) yet was burned down after the public riot that took place in 404 as a result of the disagreements between Emperor Arkadios (395-408) wife empress Eudoksia and Istanbul s patriarch Ioannes Chrysostomos, who was exiled. The patriarch s mosaic portrait can still be viewed at the tymphanon wall located in the northern part of the church. No remains have been recovered from the first church; however, the bricks found in the museum storage branded Megale Ekklesia are predicted to belong to the first construction.

In The Early Morning There is Such a Beautiful View Of HAGIA SOFIYA

Amazing experience here! Feeling like I was brought to 1500 years backward. I am amazed how Byzantyn people 15 centuries ago built this astonishing construction. The story of Muhammad Al Fatih is my favourite part.

Are you in Istanbul? Then you will have to visit to avoid the questioning when you get home and ROMO (regret of missing out). The package describes the product perfectly. Its a nice building and you won't get more from it unless you read up before, or during, or discretely insert yourself into a paid tour of a language you know (there are plenty).

This is a tick box tourist item. Read up, get in, get out. Even if you don't read up - one day when you are lazily watching a travel doco they'll explain everything and you can be like "I went there, yep and i knew all this stuff but it was actually like....

It was amazing experience to salah in hagia sophia... hope i can come back to see it again

Perfect place in Istanbul. This is a must see historical location. This mosque/church is dated back to 530s. And still it is wonderful.

You can see some kind of christian religion related icons as well, and of course, islamic architecture inside. Therefore, it is a very best location to feel history.

There is always long lines in front of the mosque. There is an option for fast line as well. I think you need to book it upfront.

Great Sofistic Church in stanbul
Everybody must visit here

Visited this place for the first time and I really liked it

A great museum to see the queues are a bit long at first but well worth the wait

Incredible atmosphere to communicate with the gods!

Difficult to put in words the majesty and history of this place, you must see it with your own eyes

Hagia sophia ( High wisdom ) one of the best to see in stanbul. Awesome place...

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the museum during the early morning hours.

The cost of the ticket worth it all, there are some works in process inside the museum but you can appreciate the magnificent art inside it.

very old building so you will see restoration almost everytime you visit the museum

Great place.. lots of history .. make sure you take photos in the cultural sultan custumes and ask about the history of the place from a local

This museum has amazing history. Make sure you have a good guide to have it narrated to you or read it before you go. The architecture is fantastic.

Pretty and a must see. Try to buy very little from the store save it for outside vendors. Overpriced of course for silly tourists. But like I always say buy at least something symbolic to aid the economy. Enjoy!

AMAZING place to visit !
In my opinion , better then Topkapi palace and Blue Mosque

Amazing area. . . Infrastructure is best among world best sites.

Worth the visit however expensive.

This is truely a one of its kind historical place to visit. The whole thing is layed out pretty well telling about the history behind this amazing structure and how it got converted from a church to a mosque and then recently announced to be secular by Ata Turk.

The mosaic work, from when it was a church, unveiled after they scraped some the outer covering done is pretty amazing and the sheer size of the whole structure is mind blowing.

Very very interesting. More interesting in fact than the Blue Mosque across the square which everyone talks about.

It was an excellent chance to visit and see this great historical place

A place rich with so much history. Amazing to see the transformation that happened over the period of time, reminds us that nothing is permanent and even the richest of all leave world with out anything.
The historical place has beautiful views amazing art and lush gardens.
Translation devices are available here and I recommend them in order to get proper information about the place.
Overall an amazing place to be

It s a 1,500 year old can t miss attraction. It s very very crowded but ultimately worth it. The museum is so-so. The mix of Islamic and Christian religious art is amazing.

There is so much history in this museum. Unfortunately a part of it was under construction so I couldn't really get good pictures. You cannot visit turkey without visiting this place.

Beautiful place, i wish i could come back some day. Stunning!

Past meets Present. It is impossible to describe the feeling when you enter the oldest ex-orthodox Church in the world

Undeniably a stunning architectural feast. Too hot during the summer and there is no AC or fans inside which was extremely uncomfortable

Its historic building with different cultures . Different eras but not much to see there.

Really big, really old, really culturally significant.

A church which has been transferred into a mosque And then into a museum Inside it there are a war war between the Christianity and Islam. I am talking about the art side of this war Humanity is the winner of this war This mood which i felt, was like no other. I really enjoyed my time there I don't know the story behind this place. But really this is a must For everyone to visit in Istanbul

Excellent Atcitrcture . Can't image how they painted. saw the largest chandelier in the hall way . It's under maintenance now however you can enter . Well maintained and with some sophisticated architecture but with basic tools . You will feel that we are far behind with technologies .

A true testament to cultural and religious coexistence, an architectural wonder.

As a sunctionary for all the religions, Ayasofya or Hagia Sophia is a must when you arrive to Istanbul. You have to give yourself a day to visit these adorable places.

Beautiful place. You just wonder around a large empty building but the architecture and design makes it worth seeing.

Under construction but very beautiful to behold. The mix of Christianity and Islam is a beauty to behold. Eventhough they are renovating, you can still admire it's beauty