Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

A major exterior restoration campaign began at Hagia Sophia in December 2025, with scaffolding covering significant portions of the building and a white restoration structure visible from the outside. Most of the significant interior features – including the Byzantine mosaics and the main dome – remain accessible during the work. This is worth knowing before you plan your visit around the exterior photography you may have seen from previous years.

The Hagia Sophia was built in 537 AD under Emperor Justinian I and was, for nearly a thousand years, the largest enclosed space on earth. The architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles solved structural problems Roman engineers had not solved before: the central dome, 31 metres in diameter and 56 metres above the floor, appears to float through a system of 40 windows at its base that dissolve the structural logic and fill the interior with light. The building stood 916 years as a Christian church, then 482 years as a mosque after the Ottoman conquest, then 86 years as a museum under Ataturk’s secular state. In 2020 it was reconverted to an active mosque by presidential decree.

Visiting

Entry is EUR 25 as of 2026. The building is open daily from 8:00 to 19:00, with access restricted during the five daily prayers – Friday midday prayers close the building to non-Muslim visitors for roughly 90 minutes. Modest dress is required: shoulders and knees covered, shoes removed (bags provided at the entrance), women need a head covering (available at the entrance).

The Deesis mosaic in the upper gallery is the interior highlight – a 13th-century Byzantine mosaic of Christ flanked by the Virgin and John the Baptist, considered one of the finest examples of Byzantine art surviving anywhere. Go clockwise from the entrance ramp to reach the upper gallery; the mosaic is in the southeastern corner. The apse mosaics – Virgin and Child above the original altar position – are 9th-century and give a sense of the Byzantine programme before the Ottoman additions. The Ottoman mihrab (prayer niche indicating Mecca’s direction) was installed after 1453, adding another visible layer to the building’s conflicted history.

The Surrounding Area

The Blue Mosque is directly opposite across Sultanahmet Square, free to visit outside prayer times, with 20,000 Iznik tiles in cobalt and turquoise creating the interior effect the building is named for. Topkapi Palace is 10 minutes east – the combined palace and Harem ticket costs approximately EUR 55. The Basilica Cistern, directly south of Hagia Sophia, is a 6th-century underground reservoir of 336 marble columns in green-lit stone, recently renovated with improved lighting; entry around 300 TL.

Eating Near Sultanahmet

The restaurants immediately around Sultanahmet Square are expensive for what they deliver. Walking 10 minutes north toward Sirkeci significantly improves the options. The better meal strategy is to take the Eminonu-Kadikoy ferry (15 minutes, a few lira) to the Asian side and eat at the Kadikoy fish market for lunch – genuinely good food at local prices, with the added experience of the ferry crossing across the Bosphorus.

Getting Around

The T1 tram connects Sultanahmet to the Grand Bazaar (Beyazit stop), Eminonu ferry terminal, and Kabatas. The IstanbulKart works on trams, buses, ferries, and metro – buy one and tap at every boarding.