Visit historic Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

A church, a mosque and recently a museum – the Hagia Sophia is the only structure that has been one of these through different points of history. This beautiful building stands as evidence of Turkey’s ancient history, besides being the iconic symbol of cultural heritage and religious harmony. Join this session for a treat to your eyes as we take you inside Istanbul’s famous mosque – the Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia is a Greek phrase that roughly translates to ‘Holy Wisdom.’ Built in the 4th century AD during the Constantine rule, Hagia Sophia was first constructed as a small church, but the building was destroyed and re-built three times, before the Roman Emperor Justinian constructed, in 537AD, most of what we see today. It was the largest cathedral until the 16th century, when St. Peter’s Basilica was erected. This became the most important building and a symbol of the city. When the Ottoman Turks ruled, they began losing the favour of their people. To win their hearts back, in 1453, the four minarets (meant for Islamic prayer calls) were constructed and the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque. And it remained so until 1934, when President Ataturk, first leader of the Republic of Turkey, converted into a museum that solicited an entry fee. Interestingly, Hagia Sophia was restored as a mosque in July 2020, with free entrance for all, once again.

As our host takes us inside the Hagia Sophia, we enter through two heavy iron doors into the hallways with walls and floors lined with marble, archways decorated with mosaic paintings dating back to the 9th, 10th & 11th centuries. We walk inside the grand prayer hall and our presenter’s takes our view to the ceiling to show us a grand dome at a height of 55 metres from the ground. This large dome is surrounded by half and quarter domes, and supported only by two large ‘elephant legs’ pillars. With ample time to admire this grand old mosque, our presenter steps out onto the streets to a little garden that acts as an observation point of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque together.

With so much history, culture and religious inferences, the Hagia Sophia will make for a perfect tour for a group of school children.

This tour has been designed specially for school children. This is a group tour that accommodates up to 25 children at a time. Once you book this experience, we will send you a confirmation email with a link to join the session.  Children and teachers can log in from their individual classes or congregate in one single class/hall and access the tour via the link provided.

You will need a stable internet connection and a mobile device (ideally a desktop or laptop) to stream the session.

You can cancel and obtain a full refund for this session until 5 days before the date of the first session.