Hello,
We will be in Istanbul on May 15 for a couple of days. Has anyone been to the Chora Church? We are staying in Sultanamit area, and looks like we can take the tram or a ferry close to the church. I have read conflicting information on if the church / mosque is open or not. We are thinking that the lines at Hagia Sophia can be rather long, so this may be a good alternative.
Thanks!
Julie
The last I’ve heard is that Chora Church is closed and will not reopen to the public. Which is a shame because it was an incredibly beautiful church.
Was there in 2011 via RS tour. Sadly no longer open.
Yes lines will be long for Hagia Sophia but in all my years of travel one of the most spectacular places I’ve been privileged to see first hand. Stunning.
We were in Istanbul last June. Got in line a Hagia Sophia 15 minutes before opening and were inside 20 minutes later. BTW, we saved Blue Mosque for later in the afternoon and walked right in.
The website for Chora is here https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/kariye and it currently lists status as "under renovation" as it is being converted to a mosque. But check with locals or the TI when you visit, the status could change at any time. This thread from a month ago has a comment that it looked like it was getting closer to being open: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/turkey/chora-church-open-for-tourists
Hopefully you know that the Hagia Sophia now has a 25 euro entrance fee to visit the second floor, and you cannot enter the main (prayer) floor. I don't know what impact that will have on lines but I suspect they're not the very long ones that occurred with free entry.
There is an unconfirmed rumor that the Chora might reopen as a mosque in May. The problem is that the renovation/conversion was originally supposed to include covering all the mosaics, basically everything worth seeing at the Chora. There has been a lot of negotiation between UNESCO and the Turkish government for years, and I don't know what was finally decided.
I wouldn't make any plans to visit the Chora until you can confirm from reliable sources that the site is open and that the mosaics will be visible.
I would highly recommend visiting the Hagia Sophia, regardless of lines, entrances fees or restricted areas. I hate crowds and lines, but the Hagia Sophia is worth it. It is truly magnificent. The mosaics at the Chora were wonderful when I visited in 2015, but the Hagia Sophia is in a different league.
Hello, thank you everyone for your helpful input. So sad if the original mosiacs at the Chora church are covered. We will ask when we get to Istanbul. And, we do plan then to visit Hagia Sophia.
Safe Travels! Julie
Good news.
Chora church opened today.
Tomorrow may 6th will be first day for visitors. No idea what regulations. As a tour guide I am planning to visit it tomorrow afternoon, I will inform about it.
That's wonderful news.
I couldn't find anything in terms of visitor information, but I found this article with pictures dated May 6. It looks like a couple mosaics were covered, but photo shows a person lifting the drape for a view.
Chora church opened today.
Sweet! OK, changing my itinerary to re-include Chora Church!
Thank you all so much for the information on the Kariye Mosque - Chora Church. This will get put back on our plan of places to visit in Istanbul!!
Safe Travels
Julie
If someone finds visitor information, could it be posted? Like hours, price, online purchase available, etc. Also, I will also be staying in Sultanamit area. Google maps is indicating its a bus ride of 44 min or a car ride of about 20. So, I'd be interested in suggestions for transportation.
Wow, that’s great that it is reopening. It looks like most Turkish news media have reported it so it’s sounds official.
When I was there back in 2007 on a solo trip, I just walked in and did not need a ticket. But obviously that has changed. I also walked there from Sultanahmet, but it was about 3 1/2 miles so I probably would not recommend that. :-) But it was an interesting walk. Part of the route took me through the Fatih district, which is a more conservative section of Istanbul. Almost all of the women I saw were covered, and I got more than a few strange looks as I was a woman walking by myself.
Jules, here is an article that gives more details. Nothing official but still... Evidently the mosque is free but you will need to pay to see the gorgeous frescoes. https://istanbulclues.com/chora-church-kariye-museum-entrance-fee/
So Helpful, thanks Mardee!
Sounds like a bus is a possibility. I'm not clear on whether there is a fee for the frescoes. Honestly, not likely to matter, if its open when I'm there, I will see it, unless it requires a bank loan.
I'm sure details will be fleshed out eventually.
Right now I am at Chora, just short info.
Works completed are amazing, wonderfull, I love it.
Opening tşme, closing times etc not confirmed yet, by now it is free of charge....
Hello. For anyone interested - we visited the Kariye Mosque today. Not all of the frescoes were covered, we were able to see some rather amazing art on ceilings and walls. We were not able to go into the worship part, but peeking inside, we didn't see any remaining Frescoes; it could be that we just did not get a glimpse, but from our view we didn't see any. Anyways, my husband and I were moved by the incredible frescoes - well worth the visit. Right now there no fee to enter.
We took a Taxi / Uber from the Topkapi Palace area, about 30 minute ride with traffic and very reasonable price. Going through the town of Balat was quite the experience - narrow roads and people everywhere - which just added to the adventure. There are a couple of gift shops and a coffee / shop restaurant across the street from the mosque, and further down the road seemed to be a lot of traffic, so perhaps more options for dining.
Highly recommed a visit if you have time.
Safe Travels, Julie Kay
I found Balat so much fun to explore that I went there twice.
Thanks, Julie. Balat looks very picturesque or at least what google images is showing me. Can you provide any other Istanbul "intel"? Lines at the Hagia Sophia or Blue Mosque? Did you pay the cab driver by cc or cash? Have you needed much cash?
One of the smallish restaurants near my Old City hotel (a less-Westernized area than you're staying in) had a card reader that couldn't deal with my US card. It didn't have tap functionality. The problem may simply have been that the server didn't know how to generate a receipt with a signature line, but the point is that I had to pony up cash unexpectedly. A neighboring restaurant pushed me pretty hard to pay in cash even though it nominally took cards. They were nice about it, and I could probably have insisted on paying by card, but as a solo, water-drinking diner I felt sort of bad about the card fees.
Plenty of other Istanbul restaurants took my card payment without comment.
For Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, it just depends on day and time that you go to visit. We visited Hagia Sophia later in the day on a week day and the line was very small to purchase tickets and enter. On Saturday, when we walked by, the ticket line and the entry line was rather long. We didn't experience a line at the Blue Mosque, maybe we just got lucky, but there were quite a lot of people.
For the Uber / Taxi to Balat, our CC was accepted and you can pay cash too. The taxi driver on the way to Chora Church did charge more than the Uber price, but not too bad, and the taxi driver on the way back charged exactly what Uber price stated. So just be careful with the taxi drivers.
Caution for some hotel services though. The concierge at our hotel offered a lot of assistance, but they charged way too much money. For example, when we made an inquiry about a ride to Chora Church, he was charging 2,800 TYL - about $96 USD. With Uber Taxi our round trip was about $40 (with one taxi driver over charging). The hotel concierege did the same with other things, charging way too much, so we never used their services.
Restaurants in this area are terribly overpriced and when you walk around, the restaurant staff try to get you to eat at their restaurant. Look at menu prices before you enter and sit down. It is worth the walk to go a couple of blocks out the the tourist area to find really good food at a much more reasonable cost.
We stayed very near the Blue Mosque to save on walking distances because my husband has mobility issues. We paid more for hotel, but being close to Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basicila Cistern and other venues it was worth it for us.
Overall our experience here in Istanbul was great - just be cautious of people approaching you to try to get you into their restaurants or establishments. When you have a chance to talk with the locals though, we found the people to be very kind.
Safe Travels
Julie Kay
Just came across this in RS guidebook updates:
The Chora Church has reopened as both a mosque and museum following a years-long restoration effort. The central nave is now part of the functioning mosque, so it is only open to men (but visitors can view its attractions from the doorway). Admission is currently free, but is expected to be $27. Hours: Daily 9:00–19:00, except closed during prayers. Visitors must now enter the mosque grounds on the north side, from Kariye Türbesi Sokak, and walk around to the mosque-museum's entrance on the south side of the building, passing through security on the way.
Not sure where this came from, the mosque website still states its free. Not to keen on paying $27 to peek in the doorway
So can we see the paintings in the Chora church/mosque?
mathewmk, yes, you can still see the frescos. I had put a link in here that gave some information but for some reason the post is gone. I'm checking with the tech crew and hopefully it will come back.
