Hello,
Me and my my wife are planning to visit Istanbul during the first week of April 2024. We plan to visit the following sites:
Hagia Sophia,
Blue Mosque,
Topkapı Palace,
Mosque of Süleyman,
Underground Cistern,
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum,
Istanbul Archaeological Museum,
Chora Church,
Galata Tower
Kindly advise which of these sites require admission tickets and where can we buy the tickets online.
Thank you,
Do you have a guide book? It's a lot of ask someone to provide all of that. What I typically do it make a list so I can jot down closing days and such. I would definitely recommend a good guide book because Istanbul is so rich in historic sights, but you could also just google each one to find the official home pages.
I’m headed there in September and again in October so I’ve been researching.
The following are admission free. Their official websites indicate that donations are welcomed.
Hagia Sophia,
Blue Mosque,
Mosque of Süleyman,
Chora Church
Admission tickets are required for the other locations on your list. Visit their official websites to understand what the fee is as well as operating hours. Be aware that their are a number of non official websites willing to provide tickets.
Topkapı Palace,
Underground Cistern (Basilica?)
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum,
Istanbul Archaeological Museum,
Galata Tower
Istanbul and beyond is very beautiful. In 2009 I found it incredibly welcoming. My research has indicated that the old town is now heavy touristic. I stayed there during my first visit. In September we will stay in/near Karakoy and in October in Sultanahment. I plan to visit all the sites on your list plus quite a few others. Do enjoy your trip.
It's my understanding that Chora Church is closed indefinitely. Someone please advise me if I'm wrong on that as I would love to visit it this fall if it will be open by that time.
Hagia Sophia, > No Entrance Fee
Blue Mosque, > No Entrance Fee
Topkapı Palace, > There is an entrance fee
Mosque of Süleyman, > No Entrance Fee
Underground Cistern, > There is an entrance fee
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, > There is an entrance fee
Istanbul Archaeological Museum, > There is an entrance fee
Chora Church, > There is an entrance fee
Galata Tower > There is an entrance fee
You can buy Museum Pass Istanbul which cover some places. Underground Cistern is not include within the museum pass.
It's a good idea to check to see what's open and what is partially open no matter where you plan to go. The last time I went to Topkapi barely anything was open to the public several years ago.
I THINK that the Chora Church was closed by Erdogan in 2020 to covert it back to a Mosque. It has not opened again. It was known as the Kaiser Museum.
http://en.istanbul.gov.tr/museums-of-istanbul-kariye-museum-with-its-world-famous-frescoes
We are now in Istanbul and are heartbroken that we could not see it again.
Marcia
Currently closed:
Kariye Mosque (former Chora Church)
Great Palace Mosaics Museum
Tiled Kiosk (part of the Archaeological Museum)
Tomb of Sultan Ibrahim outside Hagia Sophia
Bab-i-Ali (Grand Portal)
There are construction wraps around the last three.
I haven't been to the Topkapi Museum yet, so I don't know what parts are currently open.
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: metinkoca@gmail.com or using WhatsApp: +90 (533) 230 19 76. He has lots of excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.
I went to the Topkapi Palace today. Although some individual rooms of the harem were closed off, there were many more to explore; I do recommend the harem. I'd say the Topkapi is open for business. It is large; I spent almost six hours there, though well over 30 minutes of that was in the ticket line, the audioguide line and the museum entry line. The line for the museum varies, so you might check it out when you arrive and see whether it looks like a good time to tackle it.
You have to leave an ID if you want the (free) audioguide. Be sure they give you a claim ticket so you don't have a problem retrieving your ID at the end of the day.
I was disappointed by Aya Irina (Hagia Irene), which is included on the Topkapi combo ticket. Much of it is blocked off, one assumes for restoration, but there don't seem to be any interior decorative elements (no tile, mosaics, carfed wood, etc.), so I'm not sure it's going to be an exciting option even when it's reconstructed. Let's just say it's a poor substitute for the Chora Church (now Kariye Mosque), though I'm sure it's of interest to those into early church architecture.
