Go to the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum (opened in 2023) before actually visiting the main building, especially if you’re not travelling with a guide. Powered by DEM Museums, this attraction takes visitors through the history of Hagia Sophia – all 1,700 years of it – via cutting-edge digital imagery and storytelling, complemented by physical artefacts. The journey begins with the “founding of the Byzantine Empire, tracing the construction and transformation of the Hagia Sophia through time”, says its website. This structure lies 12m underground, about 150m away from the Hagia Sophia. Head to the Buyuk Camlica Camii or Grand Camlica Mosque, Turkiye’s largest mosque (63,000 people!

Source: The Star December 23, 2025 12:03 UTC