A beautiful mosque from the outside and lovely inside. The mosque is quite big and there are lots of lights inside. It gets crowded inside. There is a security queue which was very very long, it took us about 40 minutes to get to the security. After security there isnt a long queue to get in.

Beautiful and amazing. Definitely worth a visit. While lines were long, they moved quite quickly. We did not take a tour as it was not necessary. It is free to visit and I recommend bringing a plastic bag to put your shoes in so you can keep them With you.

Hundreds of people of different races, gender, religion, societal beliefs, financial status, all respectful of the history embodied within the walls of the Hagia Sophia. All visitors here, respectful of one another. What a concept, right!?!!! I wish this for the world🙏🏼

There’s little we can add to all that’s been said about this mosque apart from: 1) Wow. It’s an impressive building and 2) After walking past the very lengthy queues on several days, we went back about 9pm and were able to walk straight in. Definitely worth a visit and definitely better to go at night.

Lovely but in my opinion not as beautiful as the Blue Mosque. Domes above were painted but colours not as pretty. Interesting to see paintings of Christ and angels as it was the former Christian Church of Constantinople and it great historical significance. Long queue to get in but it seems to be a must see sight.

I enjoyed visiting this historic building and saw it without a tour guide. I had a tour book and had studied this structure in college years ago, so I knew the gist of what I was looking. Individuals with less knowledge may want a tour guide to help really embrace the amazing aspects of this place. It’s free, there is no reservations. Make sure you look up Muslim prayer times. The building is restricted from visitor 5 times a day (one hour prior to prayer to 30 minutes after. Mid morning is the biggest gap in prayer times.

From the outside, the builing simply appears huge but at the same time, a bit of a mish-mash of styles, lacking coherence. But inside is a different story. It is simply staggering inside with wonderful complexity and a great feeling of space and height. Quesues can be long, so either go early, or in the late afternoon after the cruise ship passengers have left I could have stayed there for hours.

A fantastic architectural gem inside and out. There are extremely long lines if you do not manage to come first thing in the morning - unlike at the Blue Mosque, the lines do not seem to diminish too much even in the afternoon. Keep in mind that visitors are not allowed in during services - for about an hour in each instance. Once inside, do not forget to check mosaics and frescoes on the upper levels.

We took a tour through this mosque and were not disappointed! Historical site that was very busy with visitors from all over the world! Must see place to see when coming to Istanbul! Take lots of pictures especially a “selfie” so you can always remember this amazing site!

This is a bucket list must do especially for a History buff like me. The magnificient structure was built in the 6th century (when the city was Constantinople) by the eastern Roman empire as a church. Since then it has been a mosque, a museum and currently serves again as a functioning mosque. (So dress convervatively when visiting, and take off your shoes before entering). Hagia Sofia has withstood the test of time, vadals, earthquakes, and different peoples and still stand strong today in all it's beauty and elegance carrying with it untold stories through history. The inside is absolutely beautiful to visit, and still has some of the old gold mosiacs. To get in, the lines are long but i was with a tour guide who could get me in quickly. The architecture (combined with the history) makes it a spell binding experience.