Almost 15 Centuries-Old Hagia Sophia is the icon of Istanbul. Its history uncovers the city of Istanbul and the best way to learn about it is having a tour with a local and official guide. Reserve your place here and make your Istanbul trip even more memorable.
Since Hagia Sophia has been serving as a mosque, the most suitable visiting times are between early morning and noon hours. Our licensed guides will take you inside the Hagia Sophia Mosque while informing you about the past and today of this great monument. In more detail, the tour will cover:
As an active mosque, Hagia Sophia no more requires tickets and there is no fast track entrance.
The visiting times for Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is up to the prayer times that are changing according to the seasons. So, the morning hours are always best choices to make you visits before the busy times between the noon and afternoon prayers. We usually add another session for afternoons that avoids the closed times. Your guide will explain you the ways of religious practices as well.
The tour starts at the royal gate looking towards the Topkapi Palace. Then, your officially-licenced guide will start to explain the ages-long history of Hagia Sophia as an ancient wonder of the world. From outside to the interior details, the tour will cover all important layers of past of this city and beyond. These stories will reveal the imperial history of Istanbul that will help you to connections from the antiquity to the modern times. So, you can learn about the all the glory and drama that gave the character to the heritage of this city.
The guiding service also will make it clear the architectural and decorative details and the significance of the elements of the building in and out. The process of construction, damages of several disasters, political conflicts, conquests and falls... All in all, you will know how Istanbul and Hagia Sophia are bound to each other.
As of May 2023, Hagia Sophia is now accessible from the Sultanahmet Square Side towards the Blue Mosque. There are also two exit gates at two different fronts.
Your guide comes to the meeting point and starts waiting for you 10 minutes before the starting time. You can recognize them at the desk with Turquoise signs and boards of Tours & Tickets. The exact link of the location is here: https://goo.gl/maps/kjyt3BUVCoDtLPBg9
10 minutes before the starting time you chose, your official museum hosts will be waiting for you at this location. There you will be taken to the tour around and in Hagia Sophia right at the time.
Since there is no ticket and fast track services at all, please do not forget that there could be lines in front of the historical marvel.
As one of the engineeering wonders of the world, Hagia Sophia has been standing since the ancient times. The building itself, the collections of marble elements, the unique mosaics are all ar going to be introduced to you by your guide.
30-Minute Guiding Service in English by an officially-licensed professional. (because of the waiting lines it could take longer)
Hagia Sophia has a quite long and complex time ilne:
