The Hagia Sophia is a former church, and for a long time was the largest building in the world. Later it became a mosque and today a museum, the Ayasofya Camii Müzesi. It was built in the sixth century and used to be the religious centre of the Byzantine and Orthodox world. Here the Byzantine emperor was crowned and still today it is an important sanctuary for orthodox Christians. After the Ottoman conquest it became the most important Ottoman church and is considered to be the model for the imperial mosque. The Christian mosaics, which had been painted over, have been lately restored.
Yerebatan Cd 2
Istanbul- Sultanahmet
phone: +90 212 5221750
tue - sun 9.00 am - 4.00 pm
gallery 9.00 - 10.30 am + 13.00 – 3.00 pm
mon closed
