Topkapi Palace and Chora Mosque

I was in Istanbul last fall. Chora Mosque I think was closed when I was there. We did a guided tour (our hotel arranged the guide) for Topkapi palace and we spent about 3 hours there. We walked from our hotel to the Palace. Galata Hotel is not right by the Palace so I would probably take a cab or be prepared for a long walk. Hope this helps. Istanbul was really a lot of fun and a great place to visit. Have a great trip.

Chora church has reopened. It's not in the touristy area. I think its a taxi or bus ride from most hotels. The RS guide has extensive information that might help you tour on your own.

The RS tour should include Topkapi Palace. On the Best of Turkey tour it was partially guided then we got free time to look at things of our choice.

Here are a few recent threads discussing the Chora Mosque. The most recent RS guidebook for Istanbul was written before the renovations so it may or may not be accurate. One of the threads below includes a snippet from a RS update about new admission charges, etc.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/turkey/kariye-mosque-chora-church-456b2c20-dbc2-4469-94c9-854ea3d0c904

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/turkey/kariye-mosque-chora-church

My husband and I visited Istanbul for almost 2 days in June prior to embarking on a cruise. We had planned to visit the Topkapi Palace the morning before we moved to our ship. We were a bit shocked that the entrance charge for the Palace was 50 euros pp. It was our impression that the entry fee for the most popular destinations in Istanbul were all significantly higher this year after looking at prices online and in our Rick Steves guide. The Underground/Basilica Cistern was 40 euros pp (at least if you entered with a local guide and paid as you entered; ie., we did not purchase ahead of time, but followed an arrow to enter and pay because we were entering with a guide). Yet, online, prices seemed to be lower than that, 10 or more euros less. We could not understand this discrepancy. We did tremendously enjoy the Basilica Cistern in the evening, with its interesting variable lighting, and chatting with our private guide, who highlighted interesting facts about all of the unique, salvaged columns that were used to support the ceiling of this former underground water supply. It may have had the least historic significance, but it was a fun, evocative, cool-temperature site. Back to the Palace: because the price seemed very high, we did not visit the interior of the Palace, just wandered the garden a bit. We had planned on following Rick's book tour.

Topkapi was much less expensive at the time of my September 2023 visit, and an entry fee of over $40 (I'm assuming) would give anyone pause. However, it is a really fabulous place with a great deal to see. Without the pressure of time, I think one could easily spend 5 or 6 hours there.

I'd urge those heading to Istanbul for more than 3 days to check guidebooks and the palace website so they can make an informed decision about where to spend their time and money.

It was the Basilica Cistern I considered over-priced (in the $20-$25 range, I believe). If not for the dozen or so modern sculptures on display last fall, I'd have found the entry fee pretty grotesque.

However, it's hard not to be affected by how inexpensive most other things (hotels, restaurants, etc.) are for North American and Western European visitors. The elevated entry fees are shocking, but not necessarily significantly out of line with top sights to the west where one would pay twice as much, or more, for a comparable hotel. How much does the 40- or 50-minute tour of the Hungarian Parliament building cost these days?

And it would cost you almost $75 to visit the Warner Brothers Studio Tour outside of London. I'd much rather pay for Topkapi Palace, which was such an incredible place.

The Basilica Cistern, is currently 800 TL for a daytime visit and 1,300TL for nighttime. Today, that translates to about $24USD. (nighttime about $40) The website is www.yerebatan.com, website said the hours are 9-23.5(11:30pm)

The Chora Church/Kariye Mosque, per the website remains free. https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/kariye

Topopkapı Palace priced with the harem and Hagia Irene is 1500TL, today, approximately $45USD

The Cistern is the one that gives me pause. The "price/minute spent" is probably the highest. I anticipate at least 4 hours at the palace, maybe 45 minutes in the Cistern. Also, I got to thinking, I'm a bit claustrophobic. I don't love caves. I'm wondering if anyone that has visited felt it claustrophobic?

I don't suffer from claustrophobia, so I'm not sure how reassuring it should be that I didn't feel closed-in. I don't think the Cistern is very far underground and it's a rather large place. There will be a lot of other people around, which should reduce any potential creepiness.. The light level is quite low, however.

Perhaps Googling for photos would give you an idea about whether it would be worth the price for you.

I'm another one who did not feel closed in there, but I'm also not claustrophobic so keep that in mind.

We loved the cisterns and I am claustrophobic and it never entered my mind! We paid a lot to get here and quite a bit for our guide so I guess this is once in a lifetime and it sucks to overpay but sucks more not to see these beautiful historical places and learn so much history. I’m in love with Istanbul. Besides the smoking. Eghads!!! Everyone smokes everywhere!

I visited Chora Church yesterday. 20 Euros for entry fee. Per signage, open 9 am to 6 pm every day. You are required to leave 10 minutes before prayer time, but you can return to visit after prayer time if you keep the ticket.