Santa Sofía Reviews

Great place. You can find lots of different symbol and sign from paganism, Christians and slam. It is like a melting pot. Very close to tourist area.

Massive, grand and spectacular. No other way to describe this place. Spectacular views, more so in the evening times when the whole place is lighted up. Place of worship. Must visit if in Istanbul. Well connected by trams. Located opposite to the Blue mosque. Entry fee applicable.

Hagia Sofia Museum was the primary a Byzantine church before Istanbul was concurred by Moslem Turk in 1453 AD. The original building still exists as it was built and still has some of the Orthodox paintings, but also has major Islamic additions, primarily as calligraphic Quranic writings. Taking a full tour of the place will take about two hours if you climb the long stairs to the upper floor. Currently it is going into major restoration, but visitors are allowed in the building. Entrance fee is 60 Turkish liras, equivalent to approximately $ 12.

Is being continously renovated. Nice great chandeliers

A place of worship for centuries and often mentioned in many history books, I have wanted to visit it for a long time. Well worth the effort!

One of the best places to visit in Istanbul. Must visit to see this amazing and grand cathedral/ mosque.

A breathtakingly beautiful and huge living museum. A really impressive view every tourist should visit.

Amazing museum...Any religion are the same i God...why Man made it diffrenrent

An absolute treasure of a building, but the Turkish government isn't doing it justice with its conservation efforts

I was not as impressed as I'd hoped to be! After seeing the interior of the Blue Mosque, right across the way, and viewing the beautiful outside facade of tne Hagia Sophia, I was disappointed by the actual inrerior. Although the museum is an important historical structure ( I am a bit of a history buff), I found the reconstruction distracting, the fee higher than expected, and the audio tour bland in the extreme. With so much to see in historic Istanbul, this was not my favorite. I suppose one should do it to mark it off of a list, but it was not nearly as enjoyable as some other historic tours in the area.

A definite must see in stanbul. Can be super crowded at times. I would recommend visiting on a week day.

Yes, it is partially under construction but still worth visiting.

Its a beautiful place. With history. Its succha nice place. Turkey does have a lot to see.

Altough half of the museum was under construction it was still breath taking. The huge doors through which the emperors came in are by themselves overwhelming. You take a few minutes to understand the granduer of the Mosque/Church and to appreciate how they built such a tall structure and massive roof with the technology they had.

The renovation is right in the middle of the structure and spoils the whole ambience and I would visit again to appreciate the monument's granduer. Wasn't too crowded when we visited in January but it was cold and raining. Overall it could be managed better based on the charges for the tickets.

Ayia Sophia is a masterpiece. It is being restored. I would like to see more wall paintings. I hope they will reveal more. I had a museum card so I did not had to wait to get in, I suggest you buy one if you want to visit many museums.

It's a historical mosque which is open after 90 years

It was an amazing experience, rich in history and a standing example of fusion of two cultures

Surprisingly beautiful artifacts and rich in culture. Currently being renovated but worth the visit.

Seriously, way underappreciated. You have to come here to believe human craftsmanship.

It's a mosque covered from church because there are murals of Jesus

This is historical place... Moat visit here...Moat popular place of Istanbul..

So historical. Definitely recommend you hire an official guide. They are usually walking around when people are in que to buy tickets. He was so helpful in explaining the history of the entire place. Really left us in awe and a lot of admiration for this beautiful place !!!

Aya sofya, very heavy history . you feel on your shoulder

Amazing how history is preserved, Please go early as que are extremely long if you go after 10am

Good historical place. Get a tour guide if you like to learn more.

Was majority renovating when I visited it a week back. Very nice history and amalgamation of Christianity and Muslim worship place. 70 Lira seemed a little too high. Can be covered in 1-2 hours easily. Wish it was in better condition to appreciate the history

It can take hours if you're curious to look around. It's just amazing, the architecture, the art and the history of this iconic building.

A real historical architecture. if you go to istanbul u must see that (read about it before u go it has a great story from Sophia constantina to church and mosque)

Just brilliant and the highlight of I ll visit so far along with the water cisterns.

It needs more description (talking about the headsets)

A must visit place for anyone that loves huge architecture and historical monuments. If you have a museumpass walk left of the ticket office queue and go straight in. Avoid peak time hours for best experience.

The history, is begin here !
Assalamu'alaikum yaa Sultan Muhammad Al Fatih, the young and brave leader.

An incredible journey into the heart of the Byzantine Empire.

Beutiful, huge, so many things to see,go early morning to avoid the crowds...

This building is just enormous. This was once the biggest church during the Byzantine time. Very impressive. Now, September 2016, there is a big construction part indoor that covers nearly half of the building. Also, the price is a bit too high but anyway that Church/Mosque is impressive.

I bought the Museum Pass in particular because it included Fast track entry to this.
Got there at 9.20. Asked the guards for the fast track entrance and they pointed to the long line and said everyone already has tickets. Ended up waiting 50minutes to get in because so many people (including entire tour groups) were jumping the line and the security did nothing to stop them!
Once you get inside the premises on the line with people with tickets and passes, they put half the people who just bought tickets into the same security check as you! So the other half of the people who just bought the tickets actually got in faster than the rest of us!
Once you get in, the place is quite beautiful. Although crowded, it does have a special vibe to it. Also, there is a video playing at the entrance of the building which gives a long explanation. Audio guide was 30TL but I didn t get one.
Was it worth the wait? Not for me. Maybe if I had jumped the queues too, I would have been in a better frame of mind. Part of the dome was also under renovation, blocking part of the view.

Very intresting piece of history in the center of Istanbul!

Church - Mosque - Museum! It is one must-visit place if you come to Istanbul.

The place is great, currently i think under renovation, but you have access. No entry fee for now as it was converted to mosque. Women are allowed to the main area, you can still visit even when people are praying

Great place but since it's not a museum anymore it's impossible to see Christian part. Disappointing.

Shame, you can't really see much of it anymore. The outside is alot more impressive than the inside.

If u don't visit Hagia Sophia it's a trip wasted, A Must See!!

Truly grand and majestic!

Historical achitecture doesn't come more grand and spectacular than this. Every part, every pillar and every corner of this colossal building speaks of years of struggle, centuries of preservation and 1000+ years of history. Its been recently reinstated as a mosque and our visit was on Friday, just after the Juma prayers, so it gave an even better feeling and an overwhelming experience overall.

Amazing and wonderful place..
I love this place so much..

Beautiful historic building unfortunately it was under renovations so we were not able to see it in its full beauty

Wonderful experience. Part of the dome is currently undergoing renovations.

Great place to feel past centuries architecture and building experience, beauty and culture.

Indeed, one of the city's best landmarks. A place full of history and events. As a museum, each square contains a great past; how it has been changed from a church into a mosque by the Muslims. And how people created magnificent buildings without any of our modern technology and lived in there!
The ticket costs 40TL per person.
Great site for history seekers!

History well preserved. Tour guides were professional.

A must visit! Unique place in the world where Christianity existed for 900 years and then Islam for 400 years. Great architecture, intriguing interiors. Try covering this first thing in the morning, then gets really queued up post 11am. Also try buying the online ticket, saved 15-30 mins in the ticket queue.

I visited Saint Sophia in Turkey 3 years ago. It absolutely is a much visit site!

Amazing good looking moskee. Can advice to go look inside. Allot of old details and the repairing of the old details also realy great to see.