Hagia Sophia and Istanbul

I'm currently in Istanbul. I haven't been to Hagia Sophia yet, but as far as I know there is no ticket involved. Hagia Sophia is a working mosque now. References to skip-the-line tickets are probably for the Hagia Sophia Museum, a different location entirely, which may or may not be worthwhile. Tour companies can be sneaky like that, and since Hagia Soohia itself was at one point a museum, there is an opportunity for intentional obfuscation.

Hagia Sophia closes for prayers five times a day (as does the Blue Mosque). I was told by the Tourist Office that the opening hours for tourists are 8:30 AM-12:15 PM, 1:45 PM-4:30 PM and 5:30 PM-6:30 PM. However, I don't know whether hours vary seasonally, so I'm not sure those times are accurate for November 1. Still, it seems likely the morning opening period will work for you.

I haven't observed the situation around the mosque during visiting hours. Both times I was in the area, it was during prayer time.

I can report seeing a significant line at the Basilica Cistern between noon and 1 PM and again around 4:30. There was still a line shortly before 7 PM. Today was the closure day for Topkapi Palace, which may have increased the number of visitors at the Cistern. The Cistern has an entry fee. Apparently you can buy tickets ahead of time online. There seemed to be two separate entry lines.

By comprison, I walked right up to the ticket windows at the Archeological Museum and the Turkish and Islamic (Decorative) Arts Museum and got right in. I did learn that if you show up later in the day, they may have no audioguides available at the latter. The ticket price is supposed to include the audioguide.,

Wow! thanks so much for the detailed response! Really appreciate it!

No guarantees, but the lines should be reasonably short at 9 a.m. We were there at around 10 a.m. in early November 2021, and there was no line.

Acraven is right. Hagia Sophia a working mosque now, and so there's no ticket line and no entrance fee, although there is a security line. Try to remember to bring a scarf to cover your head .... or, you can buy a disposable scarf just outside the entrance.

If you see just one thing in Istanbul, it should be the Hagia Sophia.

If you have time after the Hagia Sophia, head across the street and take a quick look inside the Blue Mosque, too. If there are no lines, it won't take long.

The times for mosque visits are determined by the prayer schedule. They usually close 15 minutes before prayers and reopen shortly after. I googled prayer times in Istanbul november 1 2023 and the info is that sunrise prayers are at 7.30 so the mosque should be open by 9.00 (prayers don't take all that long) and noon prayers aren't until almost 1 pm. The hours would be the same for the Blue Mosque.

I'm wondering what you're going to do with your luggage?

I'm going to bring my luggage to a luggage storage facility near Taksim Square so I can then take Havast Bus to the airport around 11am. I think that would be best. Thanks for all the pointers.

Taksim Square is not near the Hagia Sophia!! It's going to take you a long time each way. There's no tram (the only fast - relatively - transport in the city) to Taksim. Buses and taxis regularly get bogged down in traffic. Google maps shows the best way is to walk about 8 minutes to the tram station from Hagia Sophia and take it to the funicular that goes to Taksim. It estimates 45 minutes for the trip. Add time to buy a ticket from a machine or better yet, buy your tickets on your way to the sight - since you'll have more time then.

Try to get info on how to buy tram and funicular tickets beforehand. And allow for tram delays. They get priority on the streets but that doesn't mean they don't get held up occasionally.

I don't know how big your cruise ship is, but I've been on more than one cruise. Just because the ship is scheduled to arrive at 7 am doesn't mean you'll get off right away. It takes time for the ship to dock, then the passengers begin to disembark. Priority goes to priority passengers - the ones who had the best staterooms and the ones with early flights out. Also there may be customs and/or security procedures to go through.

Assuming you are docking at Galataport, their website indicates there is a left luggage service at the port. https://www.galataport.com/en/services Given your extremely limited time, you might consider hiring a guide. I have no experience with this outfit yet (using them for an airport transfer next week) but they offer a 2 hour sightseeing ride that can be combined with a ride to the airport. Hiring a car would also solve the problem of what to do with your luggage. https://traveler.welcomepickups.com/en/istanbul/sightseeing_rides

Unfortunately, there have been significant lines at the transit-ticket machines used to reload the transit smart card every time I've observed them except once at 8:30 PM or so, and even then there were a few people using the two machines or waiting to do so. I assume those same machines (which are yellow) also vend individual tickets. The reloading process wasn't especially easy, because I couldn't find an option switch the language to Ebglish (Issue #2). I hope basic ticket purchase is simpler.

The third issue is that only some of the machines take credit cards. Look for a reference to credit cards at the top of the machine unless you happen to have Turkish lira. I observed others having to turn bills around and reinsert them before they were accepted, so do that if a bill is rejected.

Edited to add: I went to Hagia Sophia today, arriving about 5 or 10 minutes before it was due to reopen at 1:45 PM (per my original post in this thread). I don't know whether they'll be doing the same thing in November, but right now they are condoning off the mosque, with tourists routed into a sort of holding area between two sets of barricades. To reach that area and queue, you have to walk a good bit farther beyond the mosque toward the southwest. I ended up nowhere near the front of the queue.

The mosque was about 10 minutes late reopening today, based on what I could see. It then took me about 10 min. to get inside. The security procedure involved a scan of purses, etc. They didn't seem to be very strict about it, so the line moved well. There were multiple scanners. Signs said no food or drink except for water; I had a water bottle with me.

There seemed to be no limit on the number of people permitted inside the mosque at one time. I had no opportunity to observe the line situation when I left, but I imagine the worst back-ups occur right around reopening times later in the day. I doubt that there's a huge line of people waiting at 8:30 AM.

You can save a few minutes by bringing a headscarf, so you don't have to buy or rent one, and a sturdy bag where you can store your shoes rather than looking for a vacant cubbyhole.

The mosque is large and the ceiling is high, but it was quite crowded for my afternoon visit. I wore an N95 mask, but no one else did.

The Blue Mosque was a lot less crowded, but it had a good number of visitors. There was no wait because it was well into the open period by the time I got there.

I was unable to buy an online ticket to the Basilica Cistern. You have to set up an account on passo.com.tr first, and the verification email never arrived. Fortunately, the line wasn't as long at around noon today as it was yesterday, when the Topkapi Museum was closed. I think I only waited 10 or 15 minutes. The site was crowded, but not to the point that you couldn't maneuver around the walkways. There's a basic path to follow with some minor, short detours possible.

Thank you everyone for the helpful information.

I arrive in Istanbul via cruise on November 1st at 7am... I'll need to leave by 11am for the airport...

Be very careful (and brutally realistic) about your expectations, time estimates, and real-world conditions in Istanbul - a wonderful city that's absolutely amazing and worth seeing, but also one that is often crowded, chaotic, and more challenging than you might expect. Lots of good advice above already.

Are you headed to the airport for a long flight home (expensive in case you miss it and have to buy a same-day replacement...look out). Istanbul's airport is huge (vast) and while it's modern and often efficient, it just takes a lot of walking to get through and there are extra layers of security scattered throughout it, so don't underestimate the time needed. You would be smart to take a hard, sober look at your plans, add some time buffer for contingencies (what if the ship arrives late? how long will it take to get you off the ship and onward to the city? bad traffic? etc. etc.).

What time is your flight scheduled to depart (hopefully late afternoon)?
How much of a disaster (financial and otherwise) would it be if you missed that flight?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but arriving at 7 am and having a flight out that same morning (or even early that afternoon) sounds iffy to me. I'd look hard at all the assumptions you are making about getting around and your available time. Hopefully you get a chance to see a little of Istanbul as you blow through it between ship and flight, but I would be very nervous about trying to manage luggage and squeezing in a short visit to Hagia Sophia or anyplace else in the time you have. If your flight is late in the day, you might be able to pull it off, but I would be a bundle of worries all day until I was seated on my flight home. Good luck!

My flight isn't until 3pm. I have a plan to possibly see Hagia Sophia but if I see that we get off the cruise too late, I'll likely just go to the airport. Definitely don't want to miss my flight.

Really appreciate the details on getting around :)

I have to agree that traffic is very bad here. I'm staying near Sirkeci Station, not far from Hagia Sophia, and I've had lots of opportunities to observe traffic crawling if not at a standstill.

Good thing I asked this forum! Definitely need to rethink my plan!

No ticket needed for Hagia Sophia because it is a mosque now. Try to go on a weekday, as lines on weekends are long.
I highly recommend tour guide Metin Koca for Istanbul. Especially for Hagia Sophia because there are no signs explaining anything. Metin does private or group tours. His contact info: [email protected] or using WhatsApp: +90
(533) 230 19 76. He has lots of excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.

Can you extend your time in Istanbul? It would be a shame to miss this interesting city.