Christian Istanbul Tour: Hagia Sophia, Chora and the Living Churches

For more than a millennium Istanbul was Constantinople, so a tour of its Christian past falls into two parts. One is the large Byzantine monuments, among them Hagia Sophia, Chora and Hagia Irene. The other is the churches that still hold weekly services. Get Turkey Tours covers that second part on a private 7-hour tour of active churches, from $115 per person including a van and entry fees; the rate depends on the season and the size of your group, so ask for the current price. The Byzantine buildings can be seen on a private day in the Old City.

Christian landmarks in Istanbul and their use today

You buy tickets at the entrance. In 2026 foreign visitors pay about €25 at Hagia Sophia and about €20 at Chora, at official prices that can change.

Hagia Sophia, the cathedral of Constantinople

No church in Christendom was bigger than Hagia Sophia for close to a thousand years, and it was where the Patriarch of Constantinople had his seat. It was turned into a mosque in 1453, into a museum in 1934, and back into a mosque in 2020. Visitors now go in by the upper gallery, which is exactly where the Christian art survives: the Deesis mosaic showing Christ flanked by the Virgin and John the Baptist, and the imperial panels of emperors and empresses bringing offerings. Worship happens on the ground floor, and tourists are not let in at prayer times or around noon on Fridays.

Chora and its late Byzantine mosaics

Near the land walls stands the Chora church. Its mosaics and frescoes were funded in the early 14th century by the statesman Theodore Metochites, and they include the Anastasis fresco in the side chapel. After a long restoration it opened again in 2024 as the Kariye Mosque. Foreign visitors pay to enter, the Museum Pass is not valid, and during each of the five daily prayers tourists have to wait outside. Our Best of Istanbul private tour includes Chora along with Fener, Balat and the Iron Church, at a price per group for each day.

Hagia Irene and the second ecumenical council

You find Hagia Irene in the first court of Topkapi Palace. In 381 the First Council of Constantinople met here, the second ecumenical council in church history. It never became a mosque. The Ottomans kept weapons in it instead, and that is why the plain brick interior and the simple cross in the apse are still there. Today it is a museum and the combined Topkapi ticket gets you in. Hagia Irene is one of the stops on our private full-day city tour.

Churches still in use: the active churches tour

The city is still home to Armenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Catholic and Russian communities, and our private guided tour of active churches takes you to their churches in a single day:

• The Church of St George in Fener, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has its seat.
• St Stephen, the Bulgarian Iron Church, beside the Golden Horn, put together from cast-iron sections made in advance.
• Aya Panteleimon, a Russian Orthodox church in Karakoy.
• Uc Horan, an Armenian Apostolic church just off Istiklal Street.
• St Antoine of Padua and Santa Maria Draperis, two Catholic churches on Istiklal Street.
• St Esprit Cathedral in Harbiye, the cathedral of Istanbul's Catholics.

The day lasts 7 hours, and a private van, a licensed guide and entry fees are part of it. Because the churches hold services on Sundays, the tour does not operate that day. To attend a Sunday liturgy, ask us for the service times and go independently.

Plans for one or two days

With one day: spend the morning at Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene, then the afternoon at Chora, Fener and the Iron Church. That fills the whole day, and you need a car after lunch.

With two days: keep the first for the Byzantine monuments and the second for the active churches tour. A lot of visitors also add a day out to Iznik, the old Nicaea. The First Council of Nicaea met there in 325, and in November 2025 Pope Leo XIV prayed there for the 1,700th anniversary. Our private Iznik day trip takes in the Hagia Sophia of Nicaea, the Roman theatre and the town walls.

Clothing: everyone should cover shoulders and knees, and women need a headscarf inside the mosques (Hagia Sophia and Chora). Modest clothing is expected in the Orthodox churches as well.

Further afield: the Bible lands of Turkey

Most biblical tours of Turkey begin in Istanbul. On our 2-day biblical Ephesus and Pamukkale tour you fly to Izmir to see Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St John and Hierapolis, with no hotel included. The 10-day Seven Churches biblical tour also takes in Cappadocia, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch and every one of the seven churches of Revelation. The 5, 7 and 10-day routes are compared on our Seven Churches of Revelation tour page, and every faith-based trip is listed under religious and biblical tours.

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