Hagia Sophia Skip-the-Line Ticket

Great Opening in Istanbul for the 2024 season: Hagia Sophia Galleries are back!

As of January 2024, the Hagia Sophia Entrance Tickets are back after 3 years of preparations. Instead of waiting for the waiting lines before the ticket window, you can get your digital code here and go to the security checks to enter Hagia Sophia. 

Hagia Sophia as Mosque and its Galleries:

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 an orientation by an official guide of the museum. Reserve your place here and make your Istanbul trip even more memorable.

As Hagia Sophia has been serving as a mosque since 2020, the upper galleries has been prepared for a new era for visiting this great wonder of humanity. The most suitable visiting times are between early morning and late afternoon or even towards the sunset. Most of the time, from 11:00 to 14:30 are the most crowded sessions. 

Our licensed hosts will company you in front of the Hagia Sophia Mosque while informing you about the past and today of this great monument. In more detail, the information will cover:

• the architecture of the structure
• the process of its construction
• stories about the emperors and sultans that were part of Hagia Sophia's history
• the decorative details, especially Hagia Sophia's legendary mosaics

So, you will know better about the things to see in Hagia Sophia and your experience will be much more memorable. 

How it works with this ticket for Hagia Sophia?

Our official museum team is always at the entrance around our desk right marked at this map link here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/EAN56jmB6YMuVPA38 

From 09:30 to 16:00, you can get a brief guiding service that covers the history of Hagia Sophia and the pieces you will see inside. 

Visiting Info for Hagia Sophia:

As an active mosque, Hagia Sophia main building is open for only locals for the timely praying times. For travelers, there is the ticketed entry through the glorious upper galleries is opening at 15th of January, 2024. 

The entrance will be open between 09:30 and 19:20. For the sessions later than 16:30, you will receive your tickets for Hagia Sophia into your mailbox or Whatsapp contact. This is why it is important to register your valid mail adress and active phone number. 

The ticket price at the ticket windows is 25 Euro. If you prefer to go the ticket booth the estimated waiting time is between 20 to 60 minutes. After that, the security will be the next step to go through that may take 1 to 25 minutes. 

Children under the age of 8 will need no ticket. Tht staff at the turnstile will help them to pass free. 

Fridays, the entrance could will be closed before noon and kept closed 14:00 or 14:30 for the congregational prayer. 

Note: As the ticket price for Hagia Sophia is set to 25 Euros, the ticket window signs say they rate 1 euro a little bit over the official rate of Euro to Turkish lira at the time. 

The orientation will be given to you at former royal gate of Hagia Sophia looking towards the Topkapi Palace (the exact spot is marked on your ticket).

Then, your officially-licenced guide explains ages-long history of Hagia Sophia as an ancient wonder of the world. From outside looks to the interior details, the orientation will cover all important layers of past of this city and beyond. So, you can learn about the all the glory and drama that gave the character to the heritage of this city.

There is also time for your questions too. This orientation will take around 15 minutes in front of the Hagia Sophia Gallery entrance and your guide will lead you inside via the security there.

If you have any further questions, our prefssional team will be waiting for you there after your visit too with free tea from the house. 

Dress Code for Hagia Sophia Visits

For Gentlemen; shorts at the knees or over are not accepted. For Ladies; there must be a scarf or shall around the head and neck and skirts are supposed to be below the knees. 

Since your guides are local experts, after the tour, feel free to ask your questions about your programs in Istanbul!

The meeting point for Hagia Sophia Tours:

15 minutes before the starting time you chose, your official museum hosts will be waiting for you at this location right at the Entrance: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JxmCfbLKm6G4Xmwu9  

What to see at Hagia Sophia?

As one of the engineering 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. 

What is included in this visit of Hagia Sophia?

• Skip-the-Line ticket without waiting at the ticket booth
• A detailed orientation before the entrance by a licensed professional of the museum
• For the Muslim visitors, there is also access to the main praying hall at the ground level.

Is Hagia Sophia a Mosque or a Church?

Hagia Sophia has a quite long and complex time ilne:

• Hagia Sophia had been first constructed as a church in the late-Roman times.
• Today's building was erected in the 6th century.
• When the eastern and western churches were separated in 11th century, it became the center of the Orthodox Christians.
• In 1204, the 4th Crusader army invasion of Constantintopolis turned it into a Latin Carholic Church
• In 1453, the church was converted it into Mosque
• In 1930, the Turkish Republican regime made Hagia Sophia a secular museum
• In 2020, the Presidency of Turkiye reformed Hagia Sophia as a Mosque.
• In 2024, famous upper galleries are opening as a ticketed sight