Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque: Which to See First

You do not need to choose between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque: they face each other across Sultanahmet Square, so you can see both in one morning. If time is short, though, pick Hagia Sophia for 1,500 years of history and Byzantine mosaics. Pick the Blue Mosque for Ottoman tiles and a free visit between prayers. With two days, our Istanbul tour in 2 days shows both, with Topkapı and the Grand Bazaar. For the older city, a Byzantine Istanbul tour goes on to Hagia Irene, Little Hagia Sophia and the Chora.

What is the difference between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque?

The main difference between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque is age and story. Emperor Justinian built Hagia Sophia as a church between 532 and 537. After 1453, it became a mosque, later a museum, and since 2020 it has been a mosque again. The Blue Mosque, by contrast, is Sultan Ahmed I’s mosque, built between 1609 and 1617 facing Hagia Sophia. So Hagia Sophia layers Byzantine and Ottoman history, while the Blue Mosque shows the classical Ottoman style.

What will you see inside Hagia Sophia?

Inside Hagia Sophia, you see a dome that changed the history of architecture, and Byzantine mosaics in the upper galleries. For more buildings like it, read Turkey for architecture lovers. Foreign visitors follow a gallery route with its own entrance. Up there, look for the Deësis, with Christ between the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, and for the Empress Zoe panel. Also, look for the Viking runes scratched into a marble parapet.

What will you see inside the Blue Mosque?

Inside the Blue Mosque, you see 21,043 İznik tiles in more than fifty designs, with tulips, cypresses and fruit. Above them, blue floral paintings gave the mosque its popular name. Then look up: the main dome rises 43 meters (141 feet), and about 260 windows let in the light. Outside, the courtyard and the six minarets complete the picture.

Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque: which should you visit first?

Visit the Blue Mosque first, early in the morning, because it closes to visitors during the five daily prayers. No ticket is needed, and donations are welcome. Then cross the square to Hagia Sophia and its gallery route. In both, dress modestly and take off your shoes where asked; read our guide to what to wear in Turkey. Finally, walk a few minutes to the Basilica Cistern, or round off the day at Topkapı Palace.

Should you see Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque with a guide?

A guide helps most at Hagia Sophia, where the mosaics hide in different corners of the galleries. At the Blue Mosque, a guide can also time your visit around the prayers. Our Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque tour covers both in one walk.

What is near Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque?

Between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque stands the Hürrem Sultan Hamam, built by Mimar Sinan for the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent. So after the two visits, book a late-afternoon bath there to rest tired legs. Then, for lunch, the Bib Gourmand Pandeli sits on the first floor of the Spice Bazaar, with blue tiles and traditional Turkish dishes. Closer still, on Divanyolu, Sultanahmet Köftecisi has grilled köfte since 1920. Our guide Kardelen Uyar calls Sultanahmet Square her office; read a morning in Sultanahmet with her.

Would you like the old city with a guide who brings each building to life? Prayer times move each day, so send us your date and we will time the morning around them. Every guide we work with is licensed, and our article on the licensed guide in Turkey explains what that means.