Private Guided Hagia Sophia Tour

14 Ratings

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Explore Hagia Sophia’s rich history with a private guided tour, skip-the-line access, and exclusive insights into its Byzantine and Islamic past.

Duration: 1 hour

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Hagia Sophia Mosque - Your guide will explain the mystery of the magnificent Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, the Hagia Sophia has always been a precious building for the locals.

What's Included

All fees and/or taxes

What's Not Included

Upper gallery is open as museum and fee is 25 EUR/per person

Additional Information

You will see the recently opened (15th January 2024) upper gallery as the museum part of Hagia Sophia.
Private 1-hour guided tour of Hagia Sophia, unraveling its rich Byzantine and Islamic past with an expert. You will enjoy the smooth entry with skip-the-line tickets. Your visit with direct access to the second-floor Visitors Area, the best top view of…

Location

Fountain Sultan Ahmed III

Before entering the first gate of Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmed the 3rd Fountain near the entrance of Haghia Sophia's visiting area

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(14 Ratings)

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1 star

Katy

Oct 1, 2024

Tour of Hagia Sofia - Very informative and interesting tour by Hassan of the Hagia Sofia. Missed the ticket queue and saved time. Would highly recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Go636168

Sep 14, 2024

Hasan was a very lucky find! - Hasan was a very lucky find! We were shocked by the length of the queue to get into the Hagia Sofia and were considering our options when Hasan offered us a tour avoiding the queues for a very reasonable price. He said we didn't have to pay until the end to make sure we were satisfied. He was so knowledgeable and informative and a delight to be with as we toured through the Hagia Sofia. We would absolutely recommend him. He was charming, polite, well-informed and very helpful. We understand he does other tours as well and if we had more time we would have contacted him again for a tour of another site.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Gregpk6880ip

Aug 15, 2024

Hasan exceeded expectations - Meeting Hasan while standing in line for Hagia Sophia was a serendipitous experience . At first we were skeptical that a tour guide approaching us at random would turn out anyway other than mediocre. Instead, Hasan delivered an engaging, factual, and fun personal tour. It was just the two of us - he suggested picture moments, provided loads of history, culture and religion, and was able to relate them to the world we live in today. Can’t go wrong- if you find Hasan , take him up on a tour. Greg and Natalia

Review provided by Tripadvisor

581yanniap

Jul 10, 2024

Hasan is great - Hasan was absolutely amazing. He gave us all the relevant information about Santa Sophia Mosque and about the Basilica Cistern. He made the tour very interesting. Highly recommend him as a guide.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Simonsmith72

Jul 9, 2024

A great storyteller. Highly recommended - Hasan brought this majestic place and it’s vast history to life. He’s a great storyteller, very knowledgeable, a great eye for detail and is fun to be around. Highly recommended.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

P401eoadis

Jun 20, 2024

Tour of Hagia Sophia - Hasan gave us a fun and comprehensive tour of the Hagia Sophia. He explained the site's historical relevance and the context surrounding it as well as providing a detailed explanation of the intricacies of the mosque. It was an enjoyable experience. Hasan has a great sense of humour as well as extensive knowledge of the site.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Companion09585993325

Jun 13, 2024

A special 5-star guided tour of Istanbul - Wow - such a beautiful and special tour with Hassan to Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and - at our request - to the bazaar. He picked us up directly from our hotel and told us so many interesting things about the respective places and their history in a very pleasant way - and with a lot of humor and very entertaining. His "right timing" saved us a lot of time: we didn't have to queue and could go straight into the mosques. Simply perfect. ;-) His many tips on restaurants and using local transport (metro and tram) were also very good - and now we're looking forward to tomorrow - and another day with him. A great 5-star guide 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Dylan_h

Jun 2, 2024

Great guide, amazing historical site! - Hasan is an amazing guide with top-notch thoughtfulness and experience! We highly recommend this tour with him. We were in Istanbul just for a short layover, and we had a few hours to visit Hagia Sophia and the Sultanahmet area briefly. Hasan knew that we were short on time and had to leave for the airport on time, so he took the effort to come early and queue for us in advance so that we could enter on time at 9! Hasan is very knowledgeable and happy to share the historical background of many details of the Hagia Sophia. It's definitely worth it signing up for this tour than to visit the site unguided and not understanding what you're seeing!

Review provided by Viator

164karlg

Apr 21, 2024

Fantastic guide - Hasan was amazing! He got us into Hagia Sophia quickly and right from the get go he gave us great information that we wouldn’t have known by a solo tour. He answered all of our questions and provided brilliant context. Highly recommend

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Delys1210

Oct 12, 2024

Positive Experience - We just returned from Istanbul and during our stay we were fortunate to meet Mr Hasan. His tour of the mosque was very thorough and his demeanor throughout the tour was friendly, and respectful. Don’t hesitate in contracting his services while you’re there

Review provided by Tripadvisor

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up to 5 guests

1 Adult