Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey
Since Hagia Sophia became a mosque again in 2020, the way you visit it has changed.
78 tickets & tours
Country
Best temples in Turkey
Turkey’s great mosques are working places of prayer that open to visitors between services, and most here are Ottoman. Istanbul has nine. In Sultanahmet, Hagia Sophia, the sixth-century cathedral that is again a mosque, faces the Blue Mosque; Sinan’s Suleymaniye crowns the hill above the Golden Horn, with the tiled Rustem Pasha Mosque in the bazaar below. Further out are Eyup Sultan, the Ortakoy Mosque on the Bosphorus, Mihrimah Sultan and the vast new Camlica Mosque on the Asian side, and the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Galata. Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, has the Grand Mosque and the Green Mosque, and at Selcuk, near Ephesus, a lone column marks the Temple of Artemis below the Isa Bey Mosque.
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Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)
Istanbul, Turkey
Entry to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is free and there is no ticket to buy, so anything sold online is really a guide, a…
34 tickets & tours
Temple of Artemis
Selçuk, Turkey
The site of the Temple of Artemis, on the edge of Selcuk, is an open field that you can visit freely, so there is no…
9 tickets & tours
Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Entry to the Suleymaniye Mosque costs nothing and needs no ticket, so anything sold online for it is really a…
5 tickets & tours
Grand Çamlıca Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
The Grand Çamlıca Mosque is a working place of worship and costs nothing to enter.
3 tickets & tours
Eyup Sultan Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Entry to the Eyup Sultan Mosque and to the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari is free, and no ticket is needed or sold.
1 ticket or tour
Grand Mosque of Bursa (Ulu Cami)
Bursa, Turkey
No ticket for the Grand Mosque of Bursa is sold online, and none is needed: entry is free, there are no timed slots,…
No online ticket
Green Mosque (Yesil Camii), Bursa
Bursa, Turkey
No ticket for the Green Mosque is sold online, and none is needed.
No online ticket
Isa Bey Mosque
Selçuk, Turkey
There is no ticket for the Isa Bey Mosque. It is a working mosque, entry is free, and nothing is sold online for it on…
No online ticket
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar
Istanbul, Turkey
There is nothing to book for the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Üsküdar, and no ticket for it alone is sold online.
No online ticket
Neve Shalom Synagogue
Istanbul, Turkey
No ticket for Neve Shalom is sold through the booking platforms, and you cannot simply walk in.
No online ticket
Ortakoy Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Ortakoy Mosque is a working mosque, free to enter outside prayer times, and no ticket for it is sold online.
No online ticket
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
There is no ticket for the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. It is a working mosque, entry is free, and no ticket for it alone is…
No online ticket
Mosques close to sightseers for about half an hour at each of the five prayers and longer at Friday noon, so check the times on the day. Hagia Sophia has the longest queues; come at opening or late. Women cover their hair, everyone covers shoulders and knees, and shoes come off. Neve Shalom must be booked well ahead.
Tours and activities in Turkey
Temple tours and day trips in Turkey
Temples in Turkey: questions
How many temples are there in Turkey?
This catalogue lists 13 temples, shrines and mosques in Turkey, 6 of them with tickets or tours to book online. The most booked are Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), Temple of Artemis.
Which is the oldest temple in Turkey?
Temple of Artemis, founded in 550 BC, is the oldest in the catalogue for Turkey.
Which temples in Turkey are free to enter?
11 of the 13 temples in Turkey charge no entry fee, among them Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), Temple of Artemis, Suleymaniye Mosque. The entry fee is shown on each page.
Which temples in Turkey are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
7 temples in Turkey in this catalogue are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), Temple of Artemis.