Hagia Sophia

Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi

A 1,500-year-old dome that foreigners see from the €25 upper gallery

⚠ Foreigners €25, upper gallery only

Hours

Visitor route roughly 09:00–19:30 (winter, 1 Oct–1 Apr, ticket sales end 19:00; checked Oct 2026). Closed to visitors around Friday noon prayer. Changes by season, so check on the day

Tickets

Foreigners €25 (upper gallery route). Young children free (cut-off given as 6 or 7 depending on the source; bring a passport). Entry to pray is free. Museum Pass not valid. On-site booth takes cards

Address

North side of Sultanahmet Square, facing the Blue Mosque; the visitor entrance is separate from the worshippers' door

Built as a church in 537, it became a mosque, then a museum, and a mosque again in 2020. Since January 2024 the visitor route has been split from the prayer hall: foreigners pay €25, go in through a side entrance and stay on the upper gallery. You only look down at the main floor over a balustrade, but the Byzantine mosaics are at eye level up there, so you actually see them closer. A major dome restoration began in April 2025, so expect scaffolding and screens rather than the full dome.