Santa Sofía Reviews

Must be on the list to visit. Defintely specta ular. I would think that it is one of the most beautiful buildings.

It's a place where twice my wishes came true. So divine and magic atmosphere i felt only in Fatima. Highly recommended for all who is looking there ways in life.

Haya Sophia. Amazing confluence of Byzantine and Ottoman Empire.

Awesome old church turned museum turned mosque. It has lots of history. Going under renovations on the inside.
It's so peaceful and lovely inside.

A guide is recommended to tell you about the history and the stories of each wall, door and drawing.

Love it. A lot of history. Worth to see. Must come early to avoid the crowd

Great museum with different religious facades over time. Definitely the highlight of my layover in Istanbul!

This place is a must to visit, simply stunning inside and out. There is no other place in the world where you will see christianity and Islamic beauty side by side as this was a mosque the a church and now museum

Beautiful but still under major restoration works. Grab the museum cards if ypu plan to visit the surrounding museums as well, pretty handy!

Great architecture. Work restauration on going. The ticket a little expensive. The blue mosque the Sulaimanyah was free.

Very old masjid and church. Now its a Museum.. Don't miss it

Beware of taxi driver con artists near this area, if you see the two men in the picture then AVOID getting into their car at all costs they will rob you. License plate is: 34 TBV 75

I saw this place twice. 1st time i hated it. 2nd time i apreciated it a bit more

This museum was the highlight of the trip to Istanbul and just has the most amazing history and artwork! I would recommended joining a guided tour to fully appreciate and understand the detail, significance, and history of the building and how its purpose changed throughout the ages; from Roman to Ottoman empires and current day museum.

Awesome ... a different feeling when I enter inside great place. ..

Great architecture but the audio guide needs improvement

Beautifull building/monument important for both orthodox and Islamic beliefs. I hope to visit it one day. I really hope it stays a museum, and does not return to any of the beliefs it used to practice. This is a symbol of secularism, as ataturk himself gave the order to turn it into a museum for everyone to visit.

It's not an average museum with some bottles or a sword or two having labels on it. History is preserved in here! Even if you are not a history buff, you'd love it. And do spend on audio guide as it's really helpful.

The excellence of art of East Roman (Byzantine) empire. Simply a masterpiece.

Closed on Sundays and Mondays! Prepare to queue... Once inside you are rewarded by the most breath-taking architecture you've ever seen... Totally worth it!

History that you can touch and feel in this place. Amazing place.

One of the most impressive mosque in the world, must see in Istanbul

One of the must visiting place for all the tourist coming to istanbul.. The byzyntine art was very beutiful.. A church turned mosque, its really beautiful

Historical building. Very beautiful although some parts were hidden for construction and restoration. Highly recommend to see this in the same day you to the blue mosque and topaki palace as they are all in the same area.

It's very nice mosque. Unfortunately we couldn't go there at day to explore it, but its huge and looks amazing

A museum with a rich history of both Christianity and Islam. A place worthy of visit.

Great monument, prepare for a long queue about 40-1.5 hours to get in to, tourist favorite in Istanbul!

A landmark, one of the most beautiful buildings and a big step in architecture history

An awesome old structure that stands till today with it's ancient stuff.

This church is very unique. He has both Christianity and Islam. Here you can see the cross-shaped building representing Christianity. Here you can see the symbol of Allah representing Islam. High ceiling. There are very gorgeous decorations and murals ~ Both of these religions can be seen at the same time ~~ Although it is still invisible during maintenance ~ Very amazing ~

Without excursion it isn't interesting. And now there is repair works. Price is too high in my opinion, about 20 dollars.

AMAZING:Come here when you know the history behind it! its an amazing place when you know the history

So fascinating. Too enormous to absorb in one visit. Wonderful Heritage.

At the most beautiful, fascinating, stunning mosque in Istanbul Turkey. You can spend easily half a day here to explore and admire the history of this religious view.

A historical place at the center of Sultan Ahmet area in Istanbul. 5 min walk from Top Kapi palace and Blue mosque.

Huge and beautiful and gorgeous of architecture and the location near shopping places.

Wonderful place , a must visit whenever you are in Istanbul.

Beautiful historic place mixture between two religions

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable! The mother church for Christianity for more than 1.000 years.

Amazing, history rich museum. Worth ever penny and effort to go through its history

Much of its under renovation so was a bit disappointing... Still very atmospheric though and incredible to think of how long ago this massive structure was built. Most amazing thing is that this was a church, then a mosque and then was secularised into a museum. testament to the large-heartedness of the turkish people

Nice to see but not worth the queue neither the expensive ticket. Massive renovations are inside preventing tourists from taking good photo shots which they should be aware of before buying the tickets. I think this site is well over rated

Wonderful place, unfortunately there was restoration happening during my visit, but it was an amazing experience anyway

In my opinion, this is the most impressive building in the world. Its age and size are spectacular. If you have no interest in churches or mosques, you still ought to come here. To stand where the emperors of Rome once stood is a truly humbling experience. Come at 9-10am if you can; it gets much busier shortly after that.

Beautiful, of course, and historic, but unfortunately under significant renovations. Though as I understand, that's always the case, as old as it is.

Beautiful place, its beauty due to its big size and an important aspect which is containing the arts of christianity and islam in the same place

Awe-inspiringly beautiful and a fascinating story. Couldn't recommend enough!

Such an amazing landmark, full of history, full of feelings.

It is a symbol of unity of all prophets for one god..
Every detail in its architecture reflects respect from our grandfathers to god.

Impressive historical building but too much modern turkish "decoration"...it is a pitty

Beautiful, huge and very important church that is an absolute Must to visit. Now no longer an active place of worship

Converted from a church to a mosque, and now a breathtaking museum tiled in gold, the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) was built in 537AD and remains not only a tribute to human imagination, but an impressive feat of art, engineering, and architecture. This location is for the history enthusiast, the art enthusiast, and qualifies as a must-see for anyone visiting Istanbul.


The entry fee gives you access to both floors. The second floor is home to many of its breathtaking mosaics.
As of 2014, please be aware that some sections are under construction. The scaffolding may detract from some first floor views. However, it's important to preserving this treasure!
The Emperor Alexander mosaic can be a bit tricky to find, if it's your first time. It's on the 2nd floor, southwest of the north gallery, on a corner opposite the other mosaics.

Of course you have to go! Get a five day museum pass to see all of the Istanbul attractions- save on moneys and ticket lines. Go early in the day to avoid lines.

It was a breathtaking experience to see the Biblical mosaics!

Incredible. Thank you to those that operate this and willing to share it with the public. The history is astonishing.

Amazing place! Although veeeery touristic with thousands of people but hey... what do expect from the most iconic place in Istanbul.