I have seen mixed information about opening times for tourists to visit mosques in Istanbul on Fridays. Some say they are not open until 2:30 pm, others say they are open in the morning, closed for the mid-day prayers and sermon, and then reopen. If you have recently visited mosques in Istanbul on a Friday, please share your experience with opening times. Thanks in advance.
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Seattle area
63 posts
You are right that Friday is a day when access to mosques is more limited because of the importance of Friday services. I suggest you look at any of the Muslim websites that list prayer times specifically for Istanbul, because times change day by day depending on the calendar. Some of the more active mosques are closed for a longer time on Friday before and after prayers. One other consideration, some sites are technically part-mosque, part-museum. Popular tourist sites like Aya Sofya and the mosque-museum formerly known as Chora Church fall into that category and may be more accessible. So ---- it depends.