Fifteen centuries of history, an active mosque, and a visit that takes an hour if you time it right.
Completed in 537 under Justinian as the largest cathedral in the world, converted to a mosque in 1453, made a museum in 1935 and returned to worship in 2020. The dome, 31 metres across and seemingly unsupported, rewrote what architecture was thought capable of.
It functions as a mosque, so visiting pauses during the five daily prayers, shoulders and knees must be covered, and women cover their hair, scarves are available at the entrance. Shoes come off at the carpeted area.
First thing in the morning or late afternoon. Midday between 11:00 and 15:00 brings tour groups and long queues, particularly from May to September.
The Deesis mosaic in the upper gallery, the Viking runes carved into a marble parapet, the weeping column, and the calligraphic roundels, the layers of two religions and three empires sitting on top of each other.
Around 20-30 minutes by taxi from Şişli, depending on traffic.
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