Hagia Sophia reinstates entry fees for tourists. $27 for a glimpse of divine wisdom

Turkish citizens visiting for religious purposes will not be affected by this change. However, foreign visitors arriving for tourist or cultural purposes will be obliged to pay the entrance fee, as explained by Turkish Minister of Culture Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, who announced the plan to introduce fees in October.

Beginning on Monday, the religious site now features two separate entrances: one for tourists and the other for believers. Security cameras, fire detection, and crisis alert systems have also been installed as part of the recent conservation works at the mosque, as reported by Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Before converting from a museum to a mosque in 2020, the entrance fee to Hagia Sophia was 100 Turkish lira (approximately $2). Until the recent change, like all other mosques in Turkey, entry was free. The tariff to visit this famous site will be 25 euros, which is around $27.

The Hagia Sophia, also known as the Basilica of Divine Wisdom, was built by Emperor Justinian the Great and completed in 537 AD. For the subsequent 900 years, it functioned as the most prominent Christian cathedral in the world. The temple was converted into a mosque, complete with a change in decor and the addition of minarets, following the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the conclusion of World War I, the Hagia Sophia's status was changed again, becoming a museum in 1934. However, in a contentious decision made in 2020 by the President of Turkey, Tayyip Recep Erdogan, the monument was once more converted into a mosque.