Its official name is Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Built as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, it is now used as an Islamic mosque. From ... More
Its official name is Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Built as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey, it is now used as an Islamic mosque. From 537 to 1453 it was a Greek Orthodox cathedral and headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, from 1204 to 1261, when Constantinople was occupied by the Latin Empire, it was converted into a Roman Catholic church, and then returned to an Orthodox church. It was used as a mosque from May 29, 1453 to 1931, when the Ottoman Empire occupied Constantinople, and reopened as a museum in 1935. However, on July 10, 2020, under the direction of President Erdogan, it was changed from a museum to a mosque, and is now used as 'The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque'. It is considered to be one of the few buildings in the world as a representative work of Byzantine architecture that has survived to this day. Because it is a building of the Roman Empire, it can be thought of only as a cultural heritage of Christianity, but it is also closely related to Islam and has been used as a chapel for Muslims for nearly 500 years. The four towers next to the cathedral are called minarets.
Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
- Business hour -
- Closed days : mon.
- Summer period : 1 April - 31 October
Opening time : 9:00am , Closing time : 19:00pm
- Winter period : 31 October - 1 April
Opening time : 9:00am , Closing time : 18:00pm
Istanbultour
3km 
more+
more+
more+
Sbook(116)
Share trip & news(1)
Trip with me(0)
Feedback(0)
Point : 