Santa Sofía Reviews

Aya Sofia is takes you the mesmerising era of ottoman empire

Great historical site. Too many portions blocked for renovation to fully appreciate the place.

Hagia Sofia is an impressive building in istanbul with tons of history. What I liked most about is the fact that it feels like Hagia Sofia brings two major religions together under one roof and that felt very nice to experience. During my visit there was some reparations going on so I think that took away a little bit of the wow-feeling, but it's a must to have seen when visiting istanbul.

Very crowded and bad queue system made it a very long queue.

Amazing from the outside. Lines very very long to get in.

Hagia Sophia which is now a museum once operated as church for a few centuries and a mosque thereafter. It was a very educative and insightful visit and definitely one of the must see places when visiting Istanbul.

Absolutely stunning.
The architecture is gorgeous and full of history!

Great museum. Must be seen. There is a tea garden after entrance

Visited the Hagia Sophia Museum on a cold drissly day in November. Renovation works were underway.
So I guess I will just have to plan another visit to Istanbul. Wonderful attraction despite that and it is a museum.

Please reach by 9 am if you reach late the audio guides will all be sold out - this is majestic and even better than blue mosque from inside

Stunning building inside and out. Incredible history and a marvel of ancient world architecture.

A long rich history is found in an amazing building

Love this olace.so peaceful and the arcatuicher is unique.

Such an amazing place! the history and everything. only reason i gave a 4 star is because its 70tl to enter which is a bit of a joke. but defo a must see.

Beautiful and awe-inspiring architecture, with an eclectic mix of design and mosaics depicting Muslim and Christian influence/rites. A must visit.

Alhamdulillah, we got our mosque back. It was under renovation for years. They were converting it to a church under cover of museum. Thankfully, Allah also has a plan.

Not a fan of the way it is decorated... nonetheless it is worth visiting just for once. It is a magnificent monument from the times of Byzantium

Breathtakingly beautiful!! Spend at least half a day soaking up the magic here. It really is beautiful!
There is a little scaffolding inside, but not enough to make it unworthy. Really don't miss it. It is incredible!!

A glimpse of two religions under one roof i.e. Islam and Christianity. A historical architecture, must vsee place while visiting Istanbul.

It was a former Greek Orthodox Christian Cathedral, later an Ottoman mosque and then turned into museum in around 1935.

You will have to buy a ticket in order to visit it, for which usually people have to pass thru a long queue.

Inside is amazing. buying ticket is worth to see inside.

It's is as beautiful as a architectural building can get. Alot of history.

Its amazing what they have built 15 centuries ago.
One of the must go places of Istanbul.

This structure has been converted from a Greek orthodox church to Muslim mosque to a museum that we see today. It displays beautiful contemporary artwork from two of the world's largest religions. Definitely a place where you would want to spend couple of hours: 2 at the least.

It is advisable to visit the upper gallery first when you enter, because it closes before the main hall.

PS: Do not miss out on the opportunity to befriend Aya Sofia's oldest living resident!

Lovely building. English audio guide isn't really worth it. Lots of restoration work happing too.

Too much renovations. Other than that the place was very nice and interesting. Would of liked for more information about the place.
I liked the vibe and was a good photo location.

Very nice and grand architecture. Long cue to get tickets

Many renovations happening right now so some important parts are blocked but it's still beautiful inside. Wish I could see it when it's completed.

One of the best Museum explaining the history of Turkey and Time.

Beautiful architectural and historical site. Must visit. It has such a diverse combination of muslim and christian architecture and beliefs

It says it is open from 9am-7pm. This is the biggest site to see in Istanbul. It had last entry at 4pm!! We could have easily seen it but the hours are wrong and when we arrived at 5pm it was closed. There is also no sign at the door giving the correct hours.

Beautiful historic area of Istanbul that is worth visiting.

Its good historic place to visit. long queues so make sure you go early. there are priority pass. go with tour guide it becomes more easy to enter and understand history of place. outside there is facility for quick snacks . also clean washrooms.

Ancient temple built in honour of the the Greek God Zeus which was destroyed during the Crusaders by the Christian invaders to convert into a Church. Beautiful mosaic and paintings which were subsequently vandalised by the Muslim invaders who converted the Church into a mosque. Now called the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Disgusting behaviour.

This place- it's architecture- is spectacular. One of my favorite places in Istanbul. It's definitely a must see.

What a pretty mosque.. Its completely change our mood. And it carrying the beauty of two great religions Islam and Christianity.. And istanbul is one of the beautiful city in Europe and Asia..

Almost miraculously preserved while converted from a Byzantine church/cathedral into an Otoman symbol. Here is an inside view...

If you're going to do one thing in Sultanahmet, visit the Hagia Sophia.

Breath taking, genious work of art, strong, tough but yet very beautiful. Very rich historical place & it's a sacred place for me

I was expecting more to see once inside the museum. It was under repairing.

Went on august 2016 . Nice museum. Would of been better if refurbishment was complete.

This place is one of his owns and the must amazing historical story and view. The arts and marbles are incredible

Long line of people waiting to enter, but it's totally worth it.

Come early, because the line was super long when I left. If you are a normal tourist you don t need much time. It s not a big museum and half of it is under renovation. But you can t go home and haven t been there

Really interesting place with different culture coordinated, but scaffolds block the view and make the church looks messy.

Church converted to a mosque and now into a museum - such a wealthy heritage and with beautiful mosaics and chandeliers. Don't forget to put your thumb in the wishing/weeping column and make a wish :) we would have appreciated more informative descriptions along the way - the place felt more like a walk through palace more than a museum.

Loved it. I can't wait until restorations restore it to it's original beauty with all of the icons and mosaics being recovered.

This place is great and a definite must-do in Istanbul. Gave it four stars only because there are currently major restorations occurring and half the inside is covered in scaffolding (November 2013).
25TL doesn't seem to steep a price to pay considering the size of the monument, and the mausoleum next door is free to get in.

Spectacular building for its age. Still under renovation in many areas. Tip, get there early, the queues get long after 10am.

Awesome if you have to choose between blue mosque and Hagia Sophia for sure go to Hagia Sophia.

The best historical site in Istanbul. We jumped the queue with the fast track and were shown round by a guide. It was totally worth it.

You would need full clothes to enter, specially ladies. All sites in Istanbul are close-by.

Beautiful, historical building... book a guide to see, well worth it

A place where Islam and Christianity met, and each of them left its touch to turn it into a majestic place. It's worth visiting a thousand times to savour the holiness of each corner of Hagia Sophia <3 Especially that Mosaic of the virgin.
Stop by the wishing column is fun ;)

It's a very beautiful place, full of history and culture.

Very historical place and amazing architecture, it is recommended for tourists who visit Istanbul and is totally worth it.

Now this is a special place, the architectural marvel leaves one thinking how lil we know about history. Built in 6th century (532 537) it's a magical place. You will start feeling grand once inside. Must visit while in Istanbul.

Amazing place. Don't miss it. Make time for an extraordinary museum.

Currently has sections scaffolded up for renovation but this place doesn't need reviewing. Just be aware that the ques are really long on the weekends

It is one of the Top Three in Istanbul that you "have to see" It's deep history is longer than many countries in the world...

You can explore old culture and history of not only turkish but also various nations of primitive past.

It is same as ikea but turkish version, good quality and affordable price
If you want to equipment your new home visit it.

Great historical museum .. entrance fees 60 TL , fast track 90 TL

Really exceptional building just a bummer that you need to pay quite some money when it's also in construction

Crazy place! If you get a guide, you can skip the entrance line. We didn t opt for a guide so it was a bit of a hot wait, but it was worth it to see a Christian religious building converted to a mosque. You can see Christian remnants and the change to a mosque is jarring! (Ripped out Fleur de Lis, giant hanging wooden posters displaying Islamic text, the Christian images living behind crumbling paint, etc). I ve never seen anything like it, worth a quick stop-in

I loved the whole the experience. The mosaics, art on tiles and the history. It opens at 9 so go early because after that the queue is massive.