Santa Sofía Reviews

Breathtaking interiors. Even more amazing when learning that its current dome was built in 537. Huge open spaces. This is my top pick for "must see" when in Istanbul.

See it to believe it.
Nothing else will ever do justice to this place.

If you like museums, then there is one place you must visit (Some under construction) in Istanbul. There are so many cars and the city is always crowded with people. Use the Trams more!

It is very interesting to see the combined two cultures of early Christian and muslim. Absolutely must visit in Istanbul!!

Hagia Sophia alone justifies a visit to Istanbul. It's an awe inspiring site and a must see for anyone visiting the city.
Please remember to go up the gallery and see the mosaics, generally people tend to stay on the first floor only.
It's closed on Mondays and expect long lines in high season.

Extraordinary building in the history of architecture that was once a Christian church

Desperately needs renovation, but still remains one of the most visited places in Istanbul.

Built in 537 AD if I remember correctly what my tour guide told me. Famous for its massive dome and architect

historical as it is.
the place was under renovation but still visitable.

Amazing 1500 year old structure. Christian church converted to a Mosque about 500 years ago. It now functions as a museum. Worth the time to take in all of the paintings and mosaics.

Amazing place, so mystic, so big monument. Who was watching serial Magnificient century will love it.

This place is absolutely stunning. Everytime. I have been there already 4 times and will keep this tradition up.

The history is just breathing from the walls and when you think about that, how did they managed to build something like that without todays mechanics. Unbelievable.

It was a very interesting and beautiful museum however it was under restoration while I was there (October 2018) so I was not able to see the main hall in all its glory. The mosiac inside were beautiful!

Lots of lovely architecture but lots of renovations too, resulting in half the site being hidden from view

One of the few things I would call a must see in Istanbul, aside from being an architectural and engineering achievement the buildings historical value makes it unmissable.

Try going early to avoid the tour groups, but regardless of the time expect it to be full of people getting in the way of your photos.

Must visit, when you are in Istanbul. The architecture and the interior is superb. The history of this place is quite amazing.

Very interesting place to visit beautiful people all over the place and there's a good support

An amazing mix of culture. A must see to any history lover.

A beautiful mixture of culture and faith. It looks like a Gothic structure blended into a Byzantine and moghul theme. A visit to Istanbul cannot be accomplished without visiting the magnificent aya sofya!

There are very little words that can explain the grandeur of the Hagia Sofia Museum. I have visited it twice and to me it is the greatest building ever built because it symbolises humanity. For it to be finally commissioned as a museum and see the Muslim and Christian symbols live side by side is a testament of what is possible when humanity puts their differences aside and do whats right for all regardless of their religion or social standing.

Praise be to the ALMIGHTY, what a beautiful
spiritual experience.No payment needed. The atmosphere is so calm and peaceful. All types of people from different backgrounds and religions visiting , not one person is discriminated against. The perfect place to go and pray for the whole mankind.Thousands of worshippers ,prostrating themselves Infront of the creator of the universe, praying for peace ,love and guidance for all of mankind.The architecture is amazing and well maintained.
The security guards are so kind and thoughtful.The surroundings are so clean and relaxing.Overrall 10/10 experience.

Today is October/05/2020 emd this place os under construction shame no one told me.. I travel to far for this ...

Missing the atmosphere of most cathedrals and there were lots of restorations so hard to take pictures. Needs much more work to make it amazing

Beautiful inside and you can take a picture or video inside the building as well.

Incredible architecture, history, and place of worship for Christianity and Islam. Highly recommend visiting when you're in town, and get a tour guide so you can learn more of the details and background while you're there. Make sure to take a lap through the upstairs for amazing inside/outside views and closer views of the ceiling tiles and decorations. Undergoing some facelifts currently but the scaffolding only partly obscures views.

A must see tourist attraction in Istanbul!! It takes around 2 hours to see entire museum

Its just ok, not really well maintained and it's expensive. Turkish government should take care of these historical places sma make these places free for tourists

Amazing place, so much history, if you come to Istanbul you must visit

I loved the building And I found very worthcoile to hire a guide, not only to recibe precious information but also to avoid the queu and wait. I would come back to Santa Sophia and will!!

Truly amazing. A must visit. No lines when i visited (despite the guides saying there were). The more information you have going into the visit the better since there is so much going on and not very much information or signage in the museum.

I loved that place very beatiful museum in history alots of moment is here

An absolutely wonder of ancient architecture. This building is nearly 1500 years old and it's beauty, construction, and design still awe to this day. The Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantines as a church nearly 1500 years ago and at the time was the biggest in the world. It held that distinction for hundreds of years. In the 15th century when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople it was converted into a Masjid. It remained as such until the 1930's when it was converted into a museum. This building has so much history and has great significance to the Muslims and Christians. The entrance fee is very low so there should be no reason as to why you can't visit when in the city of Istanbul.

everything is being restored many people and are strong with the tourist

It's rlly a terrific place. Just imagine - it was the biggest building in the world(despite Piramids and The great wall) for almost 1000(!!!) years! Of course it was rebuild, renovated many times but it's ok. After the Ottomans got power in Konstantinopol they didn't destroyed the Church just converted it to a mosque. That's why we can see all the great mosaics. But be ready for staying in a queue to enter for a long - security check takes time and they only have 2 scanners + the queue arranged in a strange way. You have a ticket - go to the queue, you need to buy a ticket - go on and you'll be almost in the queue head. I spend 45 minutes there.

U must have to go there it was great seeing and a lovely blase

The entrance is free. You get a plastic bag for shoes. Women must wear a headscarf. If they don't have one, it can be bought on site for about 50tl.

This building is so unique because it has passed through so many different hands. It's a must see in Istanbul.

Amazing historical place which stretches your imagination to those ancient days

there was nothing special about the mosque and museum and the ticket price was reducously expensive.

A great example of what the would should be like. Its a mix of architecture styles. A guided tour is a must.

Nice place to visit if somebody loves to se ancient places.

It is, for sure, a nice place to visit as a historical places. However, I think it has the potential to offer more to the visitors and also the things put up for sale there are overpriced.

One of the oldest buildings probably. It is nearby the blue mosque. The price to enter which I paid this month is 72 Turkish liras which I believe is a bit steep considering that the museum is not as big and there are no complimentary artifacts.

However, the mosaics and dome are probably the biggest attractions one of. A must visit place for first time visitor but not something you keep on spending time and again.

That is church coverted into mosque. Nice architecture and you can see here oldest Bronze door in the world .

We went specially to see the vikings writings, they were renovating that spot! It was a bit disappointing but we had a good time!

Such a major landmark in Istanbul. Entrance fee has gone up considerably in the last 2 or 3 years from 30 Lira to 60 Lira now (Nov 2018) but I would advise tourists to see Aya Sofia and Topkapi Palace (also 60TL) rather than buying the museum pass for 180TL. The amazing Christian and Muslim history associated with this place is awe inspiring.

Must Visit take the metro to Sultan Ahmet you ll find yourself infront of it

Worth going inside as it is much more impressive than outside.

Beautiful! The second floor is worth the effort, too. Don't worry too much about the line, it moves quite quickly.

This place is a big historical place in Istanbul, I have ever visited. Hagia Sophia is a very famous place in Istanbul

It doesn t reflect the history of the place, this place deserves more than this and it needs paintings from same era with translators, its tooooo hot at summer

Amazing can see the original of it's been a church and the new tuches of when it became a musque

Beautiful monument. Shows different phases of history in Constantinople. It was partially under maintenance when we visited in April 2019

tourist attractions that can add insight into past history

go early morning otherwise you will stand in line for a while!! worth it though!

A lot of the uploaded pictures are not for hagia sophia museam. It consists of three rooms which contain tombs no more.

THE reason to go to Istanbul. One of the most impressive buildings on earth. If you want to jump the queue, hire one of the official tourist guides. You can recognize them on their plastic batch. For a reasonable price they take you in and show the place to you. After the tour you can discover the building by yourself. Very impressive.

Absolutely beautiful place - everyone should go if they get the opportunity

Hagia Sophia Museum is one of the good Museum to visit when in Istanbul. Some part of the Museum is still in construction stage.