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Hagia Sophia's great dome and four minarets above the trees of Sultanahmet 8 more photos
Photo: Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, resized

Culture · Istanbul · Fatih

Hagia Sophia

Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi

A sixth-century cathedral that became an imperial mosque, a museum and, since 2020, a mosque again; its floating dome still defines the Istanbul skyline.

  • Hours not verified Check on site before you go
  • Visit ~45 min–1 h
  • Museum Pass

Directions See it on the Istanbul map

Build a day-by-day plan with closing-day warnings and ticket totals.

What to see

Built under Emperor Justinian, the building's great dome seems to rest on a ring of light. Inside you will find Byzantine mosaics alongside Ottoman additions such as the giant calligraphic roundels, the marble minbar and the sultan's lodge.

As a working mosque, visits are arranged around the five daily prayers, and visitors follow the usual mosque etiquette: covered shoulders and knees, a headscarf for women and shoes off in the prayer hall. Plan on 45 minutes to an hour.

Early morning is the calmest time. Do not confuse the mosque with the separate Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum nearby, which has its own ticket and opening hours.

Getting there

Hagia Sophia stands on Sultanahmet Square, a few minutes on foot from the Sultanahmet stop of the T1 tram line.

Transport lines are general directions, not checked against the operator's timetable.

Nearest rail & tram stops

  • T1 Sultanahmet in Turkish Tram stop ~400 m~7 min walk (estimate)
  • Marmaray Sirkeci in Turkish Suburban rail station ~650 m~11 min walk (estimate)

Straight-line distance; the walking time adds a rough allowance for detours. Stops on operating lines only (OpenStreetMap, via ilçemde, our sister directory); station pages open on ilçemde and show what is around each station (in Turkish — names, phone numbers and map work in any language).

Open in OpenStreetMap See it on the Istanbul map

Watch

  • ISTANBUL TURKEY 2026 4K WALKING TOUR | Sultanahmet Old City Hagia Sophia,Blue Mosque & Arasta Bazaar

    my delicious trips · Watch on YouTube (new tab) ↗

  • 4: Hagia Sophia Tour - Istanbul, Turkey

    Sue Raylman · Watch on YouTube (new tab) ↗

Videos by independent creators on YouTube; we don't endorse tours or offers in them. The player loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.

Nearby

Open now near me →

Eat & drink nearby

Restaurants

Cafés

  • Caffe Dell Arte Café · ~250 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (112 reviews)
  • Rumist Kafe Café · ~250 m (straight line) 4.9 on Yandex (112 reviews)
  • North Art Coffee Coffee shop · ~250 m (straight line) 4.8 on Yandex (63 reviews)
  • Sebil Çay Bahçesi Tea garden · ~50 m (straight line) 3.9 on Yandex (61 reviews)
  • Ti Amo Cafe Bistro Café · ~600 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (128 reviews)

Bakeries

Listings from ilçemde, our sister directory; ratings from the map service shown. We don't rank by payment. Nearer places come first (within 300 m, then 700 m), then ratings weighted by how many reviews they have. Opening hours can change; “Open now” uses Istanbul time.

Also in this area

Straight-line distances.

Where to stay nearby

Fatih has 493 places to stay licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Ministry list, counted on ilçemde on 30 Sep 2026).

Hotels and guesthouses in Fatih ↗

Places to stay in Sultanahmet ↗

How we rank: Nearby Ministry-licensed places first (matched to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism list), then other places by distance band (within 5 km, 15 km, 40 km; straight line) and public map ratings and review counts. A licensed place never jumps ahead of a closer band. Places more than 25 km away in another town are shown only when there are few options nearby. No business pays to be listed. A high score from a handful of reviews counts for less than a slightly lower score from hundreds. Ratings and counts come from ilçemde's data (source shown on each card, checked 1 Oct 2026); read the reviews themselves on the map services.

Accommodation lists open on ilçemde, our sister directory of Turkish businesses (new tab). We do not take bookings or commissions.

Pharmacies on duty tonight in Fatih ↗ The list changes every day; on-duty pharmacies stay open when the others are closed.

About this page

Location: Wikidata Q12506 (P625). Ticket, hours and closing days: only from the operator's own pages; anything we could not confirm there is marked “Not verified”. Last checked 30 Sep 2026.