Live Tours are carried out by our hosts, who are outdoors, on location and connected live to you via video call at all times.
- LanguagesEnglish, Turkish
- Duration60 Minutes
The Hagia Sophia Mosque (Ayasofya Cami) was built as a christian church in 532-537 and used as a church for 916 years. After the conquering of Constantinople, it was used as a mosque for 481 years. Finally Atatürk, the founder of Republic of Turkey, decided for it to be used as a museum since 1935.
Where the Hagia Sophia is standing today used to be a wooden roofed basilica, way back in 324 A.D. The church was known as Megale Ecclesia (The Great Church) and was burnt in 404 A.D.
Emperor Theodosius then built a bigger church, but it was damaged during the Nika Revolt in 532 A.D. When the 4th Crusade came into city, many things were stolen from the Hagia Sophia. Iconoclastic Crusaders eradicated many images in the Hagia Sophia Church, too. But not to worry, there is still so much to see for you!
It became a mosque again on 20 July 2020 and some of the gold mosaics are covered with white fabric because of prayer, although can still be seen from underneath.
I would love to show you this magnificent building and tell you all about it.
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Hosted By Zeki
Hello everybody!
My name is Zeki and I am an official licensed tour guide in Istanbul, Turkey. I have 13 years of experience working in tourism and enjoy meeting new people from different cultures and countries. I am really happy to explain our history to people and open minded about learning other countrie's history as well. You are always welcome to my profile and I will be glad to meet you and your family.
Curtis
4 January 2021 at 02:095+ star experience. Zeki is incredibly informative, fun, and patient – all the makings of a fantastic guide. He turned what was a holiday gift experience for my mother into an in-depth and exciting family journey. The Hagia Sophia is without a doubt a stunning structure and element of history. Highly recommend.
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