Santa Sofía Reviews

Go early im the morning to avoid the very lengthy queues. Or go with a tour in order to jump to the front.

Worth to visit. Inside architecture not to be missed.

Must see museum, old church, mosque, divine building. Burnt down partially and rebuilt many times all through the ages, the building has many lovely stories. Be sure to get a guide or a book before you enter. Dont miss out the miracle column where you should insert and turn your thimb 360 degrees while making a wish. Upstairs younwill see some very famous mosaics. You will see that one of the couples, the king's face looks uneven, that is because the queen married many times that they had to remake the face of the king many times. Upstair is the door to heaven and hell. Wiking Grafitti on the side bars. It is even rumoured that the Holy Grail is hidden within this building. At the central dome you will see 4 angels who are said to carry Gods throne. The church was changed into a mosque when Ottoman conquered Istanbul. Than Ataturk changed it into a museum when Turkish republic was formed.

Was ok. 10 too expensive since its only a building with lots of construction sides inside.

Fantastic location. The architecture and beauty is amazing. Looking up at the huge dome from inside, you wonder how s its remained there for so long. Original Byzantium construction and Ottoman additions. Been here twice now and each time is well worth it.

There are many intriguing things about this place as it was first a church and then a mosque. The art is fascinating as it's thousands of years old. When you buy a ticket it's best to buy the museum pass so you can go to all the historical places around that area. The pass costs 185 Turkish Lira.

The Hagia Sophia anchors the Old City of Istanbul and has served for centuries as a landmark for both Orthodox Christians and Muslims. Built in 537 AD (Yes, no typo!), it is a unique symbol of being a mirror for the tumultuous change of religious empires in Turkey over the past 1500 years. It is a true representative of the flavour of Istanbul and an architectural marvel

Please be advised that despite close time at 7pm the last visitors will be allowed to enter by 6pm and not later. Don't repeat my mistake;)
, 18.

Impressing architecture and weight of history. Take your time and sit on the carpet floor thinking of the events that took place here (unless you are bombarded by stories from a guide, we used none). Very relaxing and mind clearing ambience. Not so pleasant when overcrowded, well, just like anywhere.

Currently under renovations but probably one of the most impressive places to visit. Architecture, history, calligraphy and just the grandeur cannot be explained. If you're gonna pay to see one thing in Istanbul, this should be it.

Stunned by the architecture. I youtubed the architecture all night before and after I visited.

Really impressive on the outside as well as the inside. Go to the right as you approach it and go around to see the buttresses built by Sinan. The positive of it being a mosque is that we were able to enter it 3 times in 2 days whenever we were in the area. The downside is that we can't see the frescos above the apse or access the 2nd floor. I've heard they open the curtains when not during prayer times but we visited at 7pm, 8:40am and 4:30pm (not during the 5 daily prayers) and the curtains were still drawn over the frescos.

One of greatest historical places to visit in Istanbul, don't miss it !

The most magnificent building i have ever been too. This building is absolutely amazing. It is so beautiful. The art work and history of the building is mind blowing. To think such a building was made without modern technology is astonishing. Everyone should visit Hagia Sofia once in their life.

Good but not astonishing ive seen better places in iran !

A great opportunity for me was the visit and I recommend it. The church and the mosque at one place.

Beautiful architectural and historical monument, immediately you go to the past!

Interesting history and beautiful interior. Would visit again

Recommended. Do a bit of research before you go. You'll appreciate it more.

It's more a conserved building than a 'museum', in that it lacks detail/that extra touch detailing the background and history of the building and it's contents. Which is shame, but you can still fully appreciate it.

There were a few info panels. But without a audio guide (which wasn't the greatest in itself), or a paid for tour guide, you'll miss out on the greater fascinating insights and history.

But it's a beautiful building, with a rich history. And quite unique.

We visited on a Sunday. Busy, but not crowded. You'll easily spend a couple of hours here. Though I suspect a lot of folks will be in and out for photos within an hour.

You just can't visit this place once, I visited this 2 times in my stay of 4 days in Istanbul.

One of the historical places you must see when visiting Istanbul. Very religious atmosphere. Name of Allah and Prophet Mohammad and the Caliphs are on the walls from inside.

Fantastic destination. Brace yourself for a long day with lots of walking. The audio guide was good but some of the audio cards were not visible enough. Worth it

An absolutely incredible building. One is really amazed at how they could build such an immense building at that time.

A historical place dating back prior to Muslim period in Turkey.

The museum is still under reconstruction. Could not get better photos as of now..

Nice place, which mix between Islamic & Kristian religion

Beautiful amalgamation of art, history and religion. Every cobblestone is worth paying attention.

Interesting piece of the history of Istanbul. Very elaborate architecture.

Beautiful museum a must go to even if you are not a fan of history

The audio tapes they sell were helpful but aren't necessary

Truly an amazingly beautiful place to visit. From the moment you walk in you can't help feeling and breathing history. By far the most overwhelming place to visit in Istanbul. Be sure to go upstairs gallery area.

Beautiful and impressive historic building. We'll worth visiting.

While this is indeed one of the must visit landmarks in the beautiful city of Istanbul, what they do not tell you in You Tube videos or the tourist guides is the massive renovation work that is in progress. This is easily a 5 star landmark but I am giving it 4 due to the huge and ugly scaffolding and the noise of the renovation work.
Get here first thing in the morning and you will be able to escape some of the crowds but I doubt if anyone gets the chance to visit the place in complete peace. My hotel was 5 minutes walk but when I reached the gates before 9AM, there was already a line of 30 people or so. I didn't take a guided tour but will recommend it for a better experience. Otherwise, you are bound to jostle for space between thousands of Instagrammers/selfie obsessed tourists.
All tourists will probably visit this site at least once but it would be good to set low expectations from the start otherwise the crowds, noise and
the huge/ugly scaffolding may disappoint some people.
For uninterrupted views and less people, I recommend Suleiman mosque during the visiting hours.
Do not get me wrong, the place is beautiful but the crowds and the scaffolding may spoil your experience.

Absolutely beautiful.. despite the renovation work while I was there.

Beautiful. Get in early to avoid the lines. Buy your tickets at the vending machine INSIDE the gate. This let's you skip the buying ticket line. The vending machines outside are broken.

A lot bigger on the inside than it appears! A big portion of it is under renovation currently but it's still worth the price of admission to go through. Very beautiful crypts on the outside, very well done preservation work.

Cool historical place you have to visit in stanbul. Ayasofya was transformation from a Greek orthodox church to Imperial mosque and now is Museum. For tourists the price is 40 Turkish liras. Its worth to visit (especially who loves architectures and historical things). enjoy!

A beautiful historic building even more impressive I side though they are undergoing some work currently.

It will take around 3 hours to view the complete museum, and it is among the best place to visit in Istanbul :)

A must see if you are visiting istanbul.the mosaics are breathtaking inspite of it's age. The grandeaure of the structure itself explains why it has withstood time and the invasion itself. It is also wonderful to see both cultures co-exist on the same space now after the restoration works. Wear comfortable shoes because it's quiet a walk. You can always combine this with blue mosque and basilica cistern.

It was alright. Had since renovations on. Can't spend more than 30 mins there though, just a book of look around

What a place! Covid measures thoroughly followed. Impressed greatly! The architecture was mesmerizing. The voice of person doing recitation was so good. Very happy with visited this place. What a history!!

This historical museum which have remained a church and a mosque is really fascinating and I think is the only such place I have seen

A must see in Istanbul in the old town area Fatih. Topkapi palace, Gulhen park, cisterne, blue mosque etc are just nearby

The most impressive piece of architecture I have ever seen.

Excellent architecture of the church now that it is converted as Mosque.

They are doing renovations, but you can see more of the building compared to the Blue Mosque. Some parts were pretty, but not worth the money in my opinion

The queue was long so I bought the fast track ticket for 105 TL. Money well spent. A beautiful sight to see especially the inside. You can also get a glimpse of the blue mosque from the upper gallery

Look for the time when it's a little less crowded then you can enjoy the view the most.

Pioneer of it's time, Hagia Sophia held the record of having the largest Dome on Earth for a Millennia.

Very beautiful museum/mosque/church. The outside is breathtaking. Inside is very unique as well, with a mix of Christian and Muslim influences. The entire place appears hand painted and the tile work is beautiful as well. Only reason for 4 stars was they were doing some work so half of the inside of the building was scaffolded, taking away some of the beauty.

Sadly, I cannot give more than a star. The place was robbed of its spirituality, its devotees, its soul. All that remains is an empty carcass, a gloomy place, not a church and, by all means, not a museum.
I am not surprised by the number of negative reviews. They are right, there isn't much to see. If you take Hagia Sophia out of its historical and religious context, all that remains is just a building.
In order to get the 'spirit' of the place, one has to have knowledge of the historical facts and the capability and the will to imagine and to silently reconstruct them, as they happened in and around the church.
This place has for centuries absorbed intense feelings from generations of people, the people of Constantinople.
There they prayed, there they watched their rulers being crowned, there they seeked refuge and inside there they were sometimes massacred. Awe, pride, grief, pain, terror, hope, all this accumulated within its walls. The Roman emperors, the Greek patriarchs, the iconoclasm, the split of the churches, the rift between eastern and western churches, the slaughter and destruction by the crusaders and the final siege and occupation by the Ottoman Turks.
A church is void without its believers. Visit only, if all this has a meaning for you.

It's a magic place. It's huge and beautiful. You will transport in time

Under reformation, yet still a piece of glorious architecture, how the light touches the windows and the use of pechinas as a constructive method is mesmerizing

Definitely worth the visit. The tour guy at the gate told us to come in with him and avoid the que and pay for the tour and we were abit sketchy but we went for it anyways. It was sooo much better that we had that tour guy because the place was BEAUTIFUL and knowing what everything meant in English made it so much better.

It was a great piece of history and architecture to see and learn about