Is it true that this museum is now converted into a mosque and is closed to visitors? I am going on the April tour and we are arriving 3 days earlier; this was a place we were really hoping to see.
Posted by
Reading, PA, USA
1637 posts
According to information found on a Google search it is closed for restoration. No completion date was available. It was open to the public prior to the start of the restoration.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8059 posts
I checked also and it was converted to a mosque and was closed to visitors only during prayer service. But in 2020 it closed for renovations and there is no word on when it will reopen. It's a shame - I went there back in 2007 and it was amazing. I hope you will get to see it at some later date.
Posted by
11 posts
Very curious since we will be in Istanbul soon. Was Chora Church open when you visited in April 2023?
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
783 posts
My impression is that "closed for renovation" actually means that they are wrangling with UNESCO over whether to display the mosaics. The initial plan when they converted it to a mosque was to cover the mosaics. UNESCO raised a stink about it (and rightfully so), and so Erdogan just closed down the whole thing.
Bottom line: don't expect the Chora Church/Museum/Mosque to reopen any time soon.