The line for the ticket was long at 9AM, took about 30 minutes for my turn. Once I had my ticket (25TL), the line for the entry was just as long due to the security check that acts as a bottleneck. Once you're inside, it doesn't feel so crowded anymore. It is really something. Seeing is believing! But for me,... More

Its not nearly as beautiful as the Blue Mosque which is just across the road, you have to pay in and its no longer an actual Mosque so completely lacks any atmosphere. When we were there there was scaffolding everywhere so it half of it was obscured from view. Had heard good things and it was just generally disappointing and... More

I got up early in order to be at the front of the queue. Thanks to having purchased a Museum Pass on the previous day I went straight in and saw the magnificent peaceful interior of this fabulous structure before it became filled with literally thousands of other visitors. You can get up higher into the building by following the... More

Book a tour the lines are long to get your entry ticket and the line to get in is long as well so if you have a tour you're wait time is cut in half

I think this is one of the main attarctions of Istanbul, but the most important point is that 3 religions were able to mantain it, een with the great diferences among them. fist a Catholic curch then an Ortohodox curch ,and finally a musulman curch. Now it is a museum, but you can learn a lot about human beings ,... More

Amazing structure. Great history. Huge crowd but worth it. Be sure to go to upper level. Lots of good exhibits. Very English language friendly as we found all over Istanbul. Very warm, friendly people. Loved the city.

Hagia Sophia is a beautiful building in a fabulous setting. Although it is classed as a museum there are no exhibits inside. However, there is a very good information display covering the history. It's only when you go up into the galleries and look down into the main body of the building that you can appreciate the sheer size of... More

This is perhaps the only place where you see Islam and Christianity blend into each other. Hagia Sophia was a Church which was converted into a mosque and is now a museum.

Beautiful structure.The mosaics are truly a sight. This attraction will probably take you an hour with another 1/2 hour for tickets. You can visit the upper gallery, but beware, its a rather steep climb up.