Hagia Sophia , Istanbul

The traveller should read historical descriptions of the golden age of Hagia Sophia and its glorious interior as a Christian Church before visiting. Only then will the visitor appreciate the degradation the edifice has endured under Muslim-Turkish control. The Church has been allowed to be disrespected and a "bazaar" atmosphere prevails by street merchants and peddlers.

this is a very beautiful place to visit i bet!but i dont see why they built it???just knowing that they built all this for a church is so wonderful!

It's a marvellous example of GREEK - Byzantine architecture. Like the rest of Constantinople and Ionia (that is West Minor Asia). We can't wait to get back

isn't it amazing that a church was turned into a mosque- a rival religion? you can still see the original wall paintings in some places. it's a bit dark which refelcts the architecture of that time. take it as it is. you don't need to spend much time there. definitely look around outside too. there's also Sultan Ahmet mosque just across the park to see.

we have visited st. sophia before a month and it was really enjoyable. we have read about it too much before our travel to istanbul but we have seen that it was nothing since we had it with a professional guide and he told us every corner and every detail mucher than we expected. Finally we highly recommend to visit St. Sophia especially with a professional guide. privateguidance@gmail.com just to have an option.

I enjoyed watching Ayasofya from the outside , in the morning and late evening . It was a wonderful and fun experience . It was well preserved and maintained . Visitors from all over the world made the surrounding more lively. I do plan to come back again .

I visited it twice in 2005 and 2010 and its visiting is worthy all the times! amazing place to go!

I loved this place. So full of history & culture. For me, it was amazing to see a building that was once a Christian church, then when the Ottoman's took over Istanbul an Islamic mosque & now a museum that shows the history of both religions. The Christian mosaics are not to be missed. Beautiful and elegant are words that come to mind. When I think back on my time in Istanbul, Hagia Sophia is the first image that comes to mind. To me, this building is just awe inspiring. As a quick side note, this building was built in the year 360. This museum is 1000 years older than the Sistine chapel in Rome and I was walking inside of it. Incredible!

I liked the things inside there. I got many pictures. I got a city trip from istanbulpockettours com and loved it.

I think there is no other place like Istambul to enjoy the mixture of cultures and of power. Inside Haya Sophia you will find an old mosque that is now a museum. It's like 10lira to enter the place. Worth the time and money.