Hagia Sophia Mosque

The Hagia Sophia is the third church/mosque that was built on the site. The first two were wooden and were burned in riots. The third on was built in 537, before the middle ages and was built as a Greek Orthodox Christian Cathedral. During the time of the Romans the city was called Constantinople after the Roman governor at the time, and the city walls were considered impregnable. There were actually three walls that made up the barrier wall of the city, and a moat. In 1453 after the discovery of gunpowder, the Ottomans hired a blacksmith to build them huge cannons and simply blew the walls down. After the Ottomans took it over it became a Muslim mosque. It is museum today and work every penny it costs you to see it. I highly recommend a guided tour in the Hagia Sophia to help you notice all of the historical idiosyncrasies of it. For example, when it was a Christian cathedral, the place where the priest stood to deliver his sermon was in the center of the church and pointed East. When the Muslims converted it to a mosque, the prayer niche for the Imam and the small covered area where the singer/cantor would stand to sing the call to prayer had to be pointed to Mecca, not just to the East. So those things are a bit off center. If you go upstairs and look at it from above you can plainly see that. There is a particular guide I would recommend, so it you are interested look for my review of him under my reviews. His first name is Metin, or Martin.

In August of 2019 we spent a week in Old Istanbul and visited several famous historical sites, one of which was the Ayasofya Museum/Church/Mosque.We were staying at the Yasmak Sultan Hotel and they arranged for a walking tour guide to take us to several historical sites. We paid that guide a 100 Euros for the day and it was well worth the price. We were one on one with the guide, he was personable, educated and incredibly knowledgeable.The cost for going into the Ayasofya was 144 Turkish lira for the 2 of us. The Ayasofya Church was built was built from 530AD to 535AD by 10,000 laborers,it is all brick and mortar, no steel in the structure. It was a Greek Orthodox church for 1000 years and when the Turks conquered the area it was turned into a Mosque for 400 years. For the last 80 plus years it has been a Museum honoring both the Church and the Mosque. I am not a very religious person but when you walk into the Ayasofya there is definitely a feeling that you are in a very special place, The structure itself is enormous and a tribute to what mankind was capable of building by hand over1500 years ago.The always ongoing restoration of the Ayasofya is in itself a labour of love and a labour of historical art preservation of both the Christian and Muslim religions under the same roof. ll spent.
The reason I have waited this long to do this review is because I had a lengthy illness that I have now recovered from it and for that I apologize for the delay. .

Dave C
Toronto Canada.

Still as majestic as I remembered it to be. A bit more reno works this time indoors. A must-have are those rented audio guides if you are visiting without a guide to fully appreciate the significance of this monument. A tad dim inside, would have liked more strategic lighting on some of the artworks on the walls and ceilings. There’s a short video story about the church turned mosque near the gift shopworth a watch. Closed on Mondays. We went at 9 am when it opened with not much crowds but by 11am there was a long queue outside.

This was my 6th time in Istanbul, and during every of these travels I've visited Hagia Sophia, as I regard it as one of world's most famous and important edifices. This time it was a different experience.
Hagia Sophia is an iconic world heritage edifice, built on orders of Emperor Justinian. It still holds the world record being built in only 5 years (532-537). It was the main and biggest Christian Church where many kings were crowned for almost a millennium, until the Ottomans came in 15c converting it into a Mosque.
During the times of Ataturk reformations it was established as a museum in 1935 - and it was one of the world's best. My memories root in that period, when you had to queue in a long line outside, paying around 10 Euros entry fee and when you could admire outstanding frescoes and mosaics from 6th c onwards, along with Ottoman decorations added from 15c. It was a unique place in entire world (along with some Churches in Andalusia) where you could admire such a cultural and religious mix.
This was until this year, when it was reestablished as a Mosque again in July. While the imposing exterior remained the same, the interior is much different. You cannot walk the multi centuries stone and marble floor, as it's completely covered with a green carpet (you must take off your shoes before entering). All amazing Byzantine frescoes and mosaics are covered in white sheets and you cannot see them, nor you can climb the upper gallery where there're more. Therefore I give 4 stars, otherwise I'd give 100.
Now, there's no entry fee, you can walk in freely (except during prayer times), but I wish I still had to pay and see all these now hidden jewels I remember Hagia Sophia for.
I enclose pics from my previous visit in 2012 and now, 2020 - catch the differences.

There are very aggressive guides all around the entrance area trying to sell their services. One pitch they use is that they can save you an hour wait in line. But the wait really wasn’t that long, at least on a Tuesday in Feb.

Just inside the gate before the shack where you buy tickets is a set of kiosks. The most prominent ones sell the Iststanbul museum pass which is expensive and gives admission to a bunch of museums. But the rightmost two machines, which are not prominently marked, sell tickets to the Hagia Sofia at the normal price. No one was using them so I just walked right up and bought our tickets with no wait, then we walked right in. I have no idea why no one else standing in line did that!

Once inside it’s pretty spectacular but not five stars besides there is a lot of it under restoration and blocked off or covered with scaffolding. Still a great visit but not as great as it would be without the construction.

Highly recommend a visit. Early morning before larger tour groups is recommended. Suggest a private guide to explain all the beauty of the site and the important history that is part of the Hagia Sophia Museum

One of the best well preserved museum that used to be a Orthodox Byzantine church first then a Roman catholic church then later a Mosque by the Ottomans, It takes backs to memory lane at least 700 hundred years just entering the museum, Breathtaking hanging chandeliers and domes with many mosaic wall portraits and many changes it went thru during 3 empires. There's a Sultan Mehmet library just next to the huge pulpit for prayers during ottoman reign.Glass mosiac windows surrounding the domes is mesmerizing. One part of the columns are going thru restoration that takes at least 30 years. There are many tourist guides taking guest whom wants to show every part of the museum. otherwise there are just voice over headphones you cud purchase when you buy the entry tickets to the museum. I love history therefore i decided to check most part of the museum. Upstairs there is a passageway made for horsemen to reach the top floor. Not to forget two huge marble jar at ground floor where i found Sean Connery hid behind on of the jars in one of his bond movies. Other than that great for a historic photography which I've cherished to remember for a long time.

So the entrance here is not free so be sure to purchase a museem pass if you plan to visit them all it works out a lot cheaper.

This place is amazing set across two levels you get fantastic views of everything and Ii could have spent several hours in here.It has a mix of religions which is very interesting,

I fell in love with this place.

It's definitely worth the money to hire a guide in order to skip the queues and have someone explain the history behind this beautiful building in detail. I think without a guide, the experience would not be much. The building is stunning and they are currently in the midst of restoring it

The Hagia Sophia was no doubt a Byzantine architectural masterpiece of its time. It represented the splendor and grandeur of the Byzantium Empire. For every visitor to Istanbul, this should be top priority in terms of tourist sites to experience. It was originally referred to as a place of 'Holy Wisdom' or 'Divine Wisdom'.

If you are visiting during the tourist peak season, there will be long lines of people waiting to enter the building. I suggest visiting as early as possible. And if its during a time of prayer for Muslims, you will be required to wait until the prayer has ended.

Entrance to the Hagia Sophia is free.

Please take note of the fact that the Hagia Sophia is now a mosque, a holy place for Muslims and where they observe prayer times throughout the day. It is very important to remember that all females/women/young girls etc must cover their heads with a scarf. Please do not forget to carry one with you. Men are expected to wear long pants instead of shorts. When you enter the building, you are required to take off your shoes. You may carry them with you or store them in the shoe shelves provided. I recommend that women dress with modesty and respectfully when visiting the Hagia Sophia as it is a holy place of worship for Muslims, Also, there are separate places for men and women inside, so be aware of this as well.

For me, it was a beautiful experience, one of those WOW moments in my life! It is amazing to see this structure, or what has survived many centuries later. This was the pride and glory of the Byzantine Empire and it was such a privilege to visit this world heritage site and I imagined that the original interior to be nothing but magnificent, grand and glorious which encouraged many Christian pilgrims to visit centuries ago, reverenced by Orthodox Christian prayer and worship.