Hagia Sophia History Museum: Explore 1700-Year-Old Monument with Audio-Guide
3.8
38 Ratings
Fatih
Step into the past and discover the rich history of the 1700-year-old Hagia Sophia monument. Explore the Roman and Ottoman Empire eras, marvel at valuable artifacts, and experience immersive audio-guided tours at the Hagia Sophia History Museum.
Duration: 1 hour
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Ibrahim Pasha Palace - The Museum of the History of Hagia Sophia offers a glimpse into the extensive 1700-year legacy of this renowned structure. The topmost level presents the era of The Roman Empire, while the level below focuses on the time of the Ottoman Empire. The historical narrative of Hagia Sophia is enriched by the use of immersive, high-quality audiovisual equipment and interactive exhibits. The first level allows visitors to peruse four distinct sections that display precious relics of Hagia Sophia, unveiled for the first time. Moreover, the ground level provides a perspective of an ancient cistern from the Eastern Roman Empire era through its panes.
What's Included
  • Headset provision for guided tours
Additional Information

The Hagia Sophia History Museum opens a window into the 1700-year history of this iconic monument. The third floor starts with the period of The Roman Empire , while the second floor delves into the Ottoman Empire era . The journey throw the history of Hagia Sophia provided with the help of inclusive high-quality audiovisual devices and dynamic installations . On the fırst floor, visitors can explore four sections showcasing valuable artifacts of Hagia Sophia revealed for the first time. Additionally, the ground floor offers a view of a cistern related to the Eastern Roman Empire period through its windows.

Location
Ibrahim Pasha Palace
At Meydanı Caddesi
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(38 Ratings)
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Swingingsultan
Apr 27, 2024
Gobsmackingly brilliant and dramatic presentation of Agia Sofia's history.. !! - My wife and I are widely traveled, and have visited many museums, but this was our first encounter with an immersive CGI driven , dramatic presentation of any sort... We were bowled over with the presentation of the dramatic history of Agia Sofia, and were made acquainted with so much new and detailed information, which we were not aware of, in our 3 previous visits over the last decade or so.. It really brought history to life, and for us was a brilliant experience... Highly recommended, as was its small antiquities museum.... So glad we did this in our 10 days in Istanbul
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Jonathansa3881xw
Apr 8, 2024
Make sure you visit! - An excellent and immersive museum! The videos are excellent! Make sure you add this on with your main ticket. The museum exceeded all our expectations to what we thought it would be like.
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Tripmatador
May 6, 2024
PLEASANT EXPERIENCE ... MULTIMEDIA ... - As per the title. As already mentioned by other travelers, this entrance was included in our Santa Sophia ticket... so let's try this multimedia experience too. It is an existing museum on which a pleasant multimedia path has been applied. Everything well organised. At the entrance, a multilingual audio player is delivered which is set to the language preferred by the visitor (including Italian!) which works automatically (audio selection change) near each new room. Non-science fiction multimedia content but still enjoyable and above all explanatory. To be invested between 1 and 2 hours including a visit to the rooms with the physical finds. Advise.
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Tinettolove
May 18, 2024
Cute but maybe too fast - Entrance ticket with visit to the mosque €47.50, expensive for what is offered. The visit lasts half an hour with audio guide but you are not free to manage your time because being in a group you are moved from one room to another by a boy in the room. So you don't have time to see everything carefully. Explained appropriately but perhaps could have been more in depth.
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Diannemuriel
Apr 7, 2024
Overpriced ... - This was a let down after paying 25 euros. It's mainly a cinematic experience with over the top boom boom sound effects, you get shepherded in an assembled group from room to room. Then let loose at the end to see some various objects. I left feeling quite annoyed with the visit. Okay at 10 - 15 euros but what is on offer is price gouging.
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Andrew
May 14, 2024
Not a museum - Not really a museum. An “immersive video” experience, where you are led room to room to watch videos that look like they were in a 1990s computer game. The sound effects were shockingly loud. Also quite expensive.
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F9331ekmichelleh
Apr 26, 2024
Worst Museum I've Ever Visited; Save Your Money and Skip It - This isn't a museum. It's a collection of badly done videos with special effects that play in one room after the next, extremely loudly (you can barely hear what they're saying in your own headset because of the corresponding museum blaring in each room), and in the dark, with the staff moving you through and making you stand in certain spots with a wave of their arms (else you might stand in front of the projected video feed and be blinded (The staff, however, are dressed very well). Save yourself a lot of money and watch a documentary. You'll learn a lot more. It cost almost as much as the Hagia Sofia itself, probably to pay for the obviously overly grand buidling that holds nothing (really, nothing!) There are a few artifacts here, but not enough to make the visit worth it or eve really to fill a whole room. Oh, and a cat snuck into the third floor in the antiseptic space with the video roaring at us. The cat was by far the best part.
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Rudi160
Apr 17, 2024
Racetrack for privileged tourists! - The museum may have a good idea, but the execution is terrible. 50 euros (2 people) for what is on offer is simply a disgrace. The digital offering is not a museum, but a picture book for small children. First, information for seniors: There is NO seating during the entire visit. When I complained about this later, an employee told me "you should have told us that". Am I clairvoyant?? NO CHAIR in the entire museum!! You are shoved into an overcrowded elevator and taken to the 3rd floor. There you are called through dark, even black corridors until you reach the first room. Floor lighting so that you can see where you are stepping is unknown. This goes on several times. The films have barely finished when you are called into the next room, which is sometimes still dark. You feel like a hunted animal and not like you are in a museum. During the films you stand against the opposite wall. With today's resources, they could have made a lot more of it. See important museums in other large sites. Things get better on the bottom floor. Beautiful exhibits, e.g. Arabic calligraphy, but far too expensive for 50 euros. Tourist rip-off.
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Janehz9791bp
Apr 6, 2024
Avoid this place - An expensive rip-off - This is not a museum. It is one of those digital vidso 'experiences' projected onto a wall, with loud dramatic music and narrative. And for this, you will pay 900 lira. It is evidently privately owned, not included in the Istanbul Museum Pass. Avoid this rip-off. Much better just to see the real Hağıa Sophia a few hundred feet away!!
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Espenh476
Mar 31, 2024
If you dont already have Tinnitus, you shure will after this visit. - You cannot go by your self, you are forced to wait until there are enough persons to make a group of 10. Then you are hurried through, from room to room. The tour is informative, but the sound from the loudspeakers is so insanely loud, that you have to turn the volume on your audioguide to max to be able to hear what is beeing said. This ruined the whole experience for me. Stressful!
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