Epic Travel → Europe → Turkey → Hagia Sophia

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Sultanahmet District, Istanbul

Time Required: 3 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Admission is 40 Turkish Lira (~$10 US) – alternatively you can buy the Museum Pass (85 Turkish Lira), which is good for 5 days and provides admission to including Topkapi Palace and the Mosaic Museum. Open from 9am – 5pm year round, and open an additional 2 hours (until 7pm) during the summer (15 April – 30 October); other hours may be observed on religious holidays. For additional information, including to check current hours, visit the museum’s website.

What’s Nearby?: Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Great Palace Mosaic Museum, Gülhane Park

Constructed from 532 – 537 CE on the orders of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, the Hagia Sophia was the Roman Empire’s first Christian cathedral, and is often considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. More importantly for us, she exemplifies the idea that you have to adapt to survive: the building spent 900 years as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, with a brief interlude as a Roman Catholic cathedral during the fourth crusade, then spent nearly 500 years as an Ottoman mosque, before being opened as a museum in 1935. The opening of the Hagia Sophia as a museum is notable because it allowed the various Christian and Muslim elements of her past to be displayed together, most notably the uncovering of Christian Era mosaics which had been covered in plaster. For anyone interested in historical restoration, this is a fascinating study in attempting to balance art, culture, and history, since uncovering older Christian-era decorations would often require the destruction of beautiful Muslim-era art. Regardless, the building is breathtaking, from the architectural elements, to the marble floors, to the religious art and decorations. There is currently a movement to restore the Hagia Sophia back to an active mosque, so her days as a museum may be numbered – so long as her days in general aren’t numbered, I’m good with whatever adaptation is required to survive (also, in case you’re concerned, it’s likely that you’d still be able to visit if she is converted back into an active mosque, you’d just have to observe the appropriate hours, much like the neighboring Blue Mosque).

Epic Travel → Europe → Turkey → Hagia Sophia