Byzantine Istanbul Tour, with the Hagia Sophia

Marvel at Byzantine architecture with an expert

(4.71)

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Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: Architecture, History, Four Days in Istanbul
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Istanbul

Photos & Highlights

Travel through time as you experience Byzantine culture through the ages
Led by a scholar in Byzantine history and architecture
Hagia Sophia

Tour Description

The Hagia Sophia is the gem of Istanbul’s Byzantine splendors. This architectural and artistic wonder reflects the essence of Istanbul through the ages, having served as a cathedral, mosque, and museum dedicated to both Christianity and Islam. This 3-hour introduction to Justinian Istanbul brings this architectural wonder to life, from Roman origins and the rise of the Ottoman Empire to today’s secular Istanbul. Together, we'll develop an appreciation for the city's rich, varied cultural history, and how this has not only informed this magnificent landmark, but the city's identity as well.

Please note: Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque in 2020. All visitors must wait in line to enter regardless of if they are visiting tourists or locals waiting to worship. This has lead to very long lines at most times of the day. If the line is particularly complicated, your guide may propose an alternative itinerary, however you will always have the choice to wait in line together.

"Our guide was very gracious, warm, knowledgeable and generous. She clearly loves sharing her cultural history with others, and her enthusiasm was contagious. She did especially well at putting everything into CONTEXT! We enjoyed her so much that we extended our tour with her into the afternoon, in order to have her guide us on a walk into the Grand Bazaar, the neighborhood with traditional hans, and the Spice Bazaar.”

This essential Istanbul tour begins outside the walls of the Hagia Sophia, walking amongst the 4th century ruins of the Roman empire. The ancient hippodrome, hidden cisterns, crypts and artifacts frame the backdrop of civilization during the rise of Constantinople. Masters of urban planning, it was here that the Romans laid the foundation for the rise of the Byzantine Empire.

For more on the origins of the city, try our Golden Horn Tour.

An Evolving Building For An Evolving City

Just beyond the ruins lies the magnificence of Hagia Sophia itself. Built by Constantine the Great in the sixth century, this was the largest church in the Roman empire, and held the title as the largest cathedral in the world for more than a century. Underneath Hagia Sophia’s impressive dome, discover Byzantine architecture at its finest, boasting rich mosaics of religious importance, remnants of the church’s transformation to a mosque in the 15th century, the Weeping Column, the Sultan’s Lounge, and the Omphalion, where Byzantine emperors were crowned. Touring this singular building will provide a deep appreciation of Istanbul’s vibrant history.

If you are interested in a deeper exploration of Ottoman architecture, we highly recommend Istanbul Architecture Tour.

FAQ

Is there a dress code for your tours in Istanbul?

Yes, sites visited on this tour are considered holy places. Shoulders and knees must be covered. Dresses and shorts must be below knee level, and shoulders must be covered (zip-on jackets or scarves are acceptable). We recommend bringing along scarves or shawls to be able to cover those body parts.
These rules may seem unduly strict, but remember, you are a guest visiting sites that are regarded as a religious sanctuary.

Is this tour suitable for children?
This tour isn’t part of our official family program, however, we can assign a family friendly guide for family tours. Please indicate the ages of your children when booking. If you're traveling with children, you may prefer to book our Topkapi Palace Tour for Kids, which has been specifically designed to engage younger learners.

Is this tour suitable for visitors with mobility issues?
Yes, the Hagia Sophia is wheelchair accessible and this tour isn’t walking intensive for clients with reduced mobility. We recommend that clients with mobility issues contact us so we can create a tour adapted to your concerns.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Claire

Claire has dual degrees in English (University of Michigan) and medieval art history (Università di Roma "La Sapienza"). She lived in Rome for a decade where she taught art history at Trinity College and study abroad programs for other American universities. She has lived in Istanbul for the last twelve years. She is presently an adjunct instructor at Yeditepe University and a freelance translator. Originally from Washington, DC, Claire is very interested in social history. She is the author of "Topkapı Palace: Inside and Out", published by Citlembik in 2004.

Ebru

Ebru has a BA in English Literature at Bosphorus University. After finishing her studies, she worked as an arts correspondent for a local newspaper, and then had a career as a managing editor for a monthly travel magazine: Gezi / National Geographic Traveler. A native of Istanbul and a licensed guide, she has a broad range of knowledge, and is extremely interested in history of art, architecture and religions with special emphasis on Greek Orthodoxy and Byzantine history. Ebru finished an MA program in the history of religions at the School of Theology and has been working on her thesis on prophecy in ancient Greece. Apart from guiding, she gives seminars on early Christianity, origins of Christmas, ancient Greek mythology and Vikings of the Byzantine Empire: the Varangian Guards. Currently she is studying art history at Istanbul University, and taking modern Greek and Ottoman script classes in her free-time.

Melike

Melike holds degrees in Tourism and Guiding from Marmara University and Art History from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul. Studying (MA) Museology in Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Universiy. Her special interests are Late Antiquity period in Istanbul and Clasiccal Period of Ottoman Empire.

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147 Reviews – (4.71)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Istanbul is a city with such diverse culture and art that it sometimes becomes difficult to understand the stories behind it without someone having a prior lookout on it. Thankfully we found Reyan, who toured us through Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern and places around that. Reyan is a cheerful person who loves to talk in and out about almost everything, apart from a good talker she is a great listener too. We visited Hagia Sofia on April 27th, 2023, a rainy day where everything seemed to be a bit cluttered, we were roaming in the streets of Istanbul when we got a call from her asking where we were and if we wanted to have lunch before the tour. We met her at a restaurant at Sultan Ahmet and had a quick chat about almost everything, I found it warm how she was not just interested about just the tour but also about how we felt about our visit to Istanbul. She has an in-depth knowledge about what she does and has a great way of illustrating stories and engages one quite well. She gave us time to absorb into the art of the monument and put questions, to which she answered patiently. She bought certain supportive print-outs of mosaics and art of Hagia Sofia which have worn out over time on the monument, just so we could get a clear understanding of the art of the place. She is fun, easy to talk to, knowledgeable, and very kind. She helped us a lot by suggesting us proper route and mode of transport to get back to our AirBnb (we are not well versed with the local language). Recommend her highly.

Vatsal

May. 10, 2023

Ebru is a wonderful guide! She is extremely knowledgeable and makes history so much fun! She adjusted her information so those in our tour who had more background in the history of the area learned and enjoyed the tour as much as those with less background. She tied the information really nicely to other parts of the Greek, Roman and Hittite histories as well as to the rest of Asian, European and African world at the time. We cannot recommend her highly enough!

Laufey

Mar. 22, 2023

During this trip our context tours were very “lecture driven”. The joy of a private guide is a knowledgeable person to stimulate and answer questions. Instead we always felt as were in school and the teacher was under pressure to present a lecture. A 5 minute background presentation is fine, and the rest should probably be spontaneous material based solely on questions (with your EXCEPTIONALLY educated guides this would be very possible). We consider ourselves somewhat nerdy and academic, but it was hard to stay engaged for a multi hour dense information lecture format type tour. Compound this with jet lag and it was not particularly enjoyable.

James

Dec. 20, 2022

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