hagia sophia museum

TangyNutmeg

Was struck by the sheer size of the chamber. Its really huge and very well conserved for such an ancient structure. The interior mosaics and frescos are breathtakingly beautiful and so is the surrounding compound.

V3231TEchristopherb

This historical Orthodox Basilica is truely awesome and fantastic. One can only marvel at the construction using simple wooden ladders. The mixture of mosaic, calligraphy, marbel and bronze is truely wonderfull. It will be even more wonderfull when the restoration is completed. A price of 30TL is acceptable , considering the overhaul experience. Access to the upper galleries us via a very steep walkway. Wheel chair access is not possible is some areas. There is a cafe and three gift shops. I would recommend geeting a museum pass if you intend seeing many historical places as this way it works out much cheaper and saves queing. Also if you are not on a tour place go after 2:00pm as this is the quiet time or else you will soend your time queing and waiting for the tours to get through. Last entrance to Hagia Sophia is at 4:00pm as the closing time is 5:00pm and closed on Mondays. Well worth it.

RusinChris

Well, compared to the Aya Sofia of Istanbul, it's not quite that grand, but it's a nice little church overlooking the sea. The thing is, with the ongoing conservative swing of Turkey, they have re-converted the church from a museum to a mosque. Now, all in all, that's up to them, of course, but as Islam forbids human figures, they have to cover the paintings, which is sort of sad. There is an effort to compromise, so you can see some of the paintings. The site on the coast is also very nice, particularly at sunset.

ZKZ15

A free of charge entrance of an ex-church and nowadays mosque. You can witness live muslims praying underneath a frisco of vrigin mary and jesus christ. History just got alive plus a great view of the mountains and the black sea.

CharleyandhisTravels

This museum was/is a mosque converted from a Christian church. The Christian paintings were not destroyed, but covered over, and are now mostly exposed.

NIGEL586

13th century church now a mosque. Original Christian frescoes visible via tourist entrance but obscured by screens for worshippers; get dolmus from outside the Zorlu hotel

adanmaoguh

This was the second church I visited that is a museum. At some point it was a mosque, hence the clashing Muslim artefacts that are juxtaposed with mosaic of Mary, The Mother of Christ. Very much an artistic clash, that I found jarring. Great evidence of hammering or eradication of Christianity in Istanbul (Constaninople).

Aussieworldtourer

No need for a guide if you just want to be astounded by this beautiful place. Read up before you turn up to fully appreciate.Beautiful shapes, patterns and colours.Love this place.

U7544HDpaulb

We enjoyed our time here a lot. It was full of history and is a stop that you should go to if you are in town.

anned321

A beautiful building, stunning! You must hear about the history that goes with this building.Worth checking out.

mediterania_1

As for Trabzon it is nice place but in general in Turkey you have hundreds places much more worth to see. It is Greek church build in XIII century now turned into museum and mosque with nice gardens but you will not spend there more than 20-30 minutes . In my oppinion near Trabzon only Sumela Monastery is really, realy worth to see.

BarisK_13

It is smaller version of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. Very nice architectural and full of history. Worth to visit once.

707hilaryh

This is an amazing place. The queues for tickets were not too long. The outside had a great mix of Roman columns and artefacts, inside stunning. Could stay as long as we wanted, a mix of Islamic and Byzantine decoration inside. This is a major historic building and has major significance in the religious and historic world

Travelerfagan

I have been in the Church of the same name in Istanbul and wondered to see Trabzon one. Not really interesting and wondering place. From city center non-regular "dolmush" runs to the church costs roughly 2-3 liras. There isn't entrance fee. If you are in Trabzon and have free time worth to go there but don't expect that much.

travellover077

Loved the fact that hardly anyone else was there and I just wander and view the place. The fact that it had a specific entrance for visitors to allow access without disturbing those needing to worship in the mosque was good.