Tourists visiting Istanbul will start paying to enter Hagia Sophia from January 2024: according to Turkish press, this is the announcement made by Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, as he presented the situation of the new restoration works at Hagia Sophia and plans to implement a new management policy for visitors, who until now could enter for free since Hagia Sophia reopened as a mosque in 2020.
As the minister explained, the decision has been taken on the basis of UNESCO’s recommendations to improve the quality and safety of visits to the monument and to preserve the historical importance of the site: “As of 15 January 2024, we will implement a visitor management plan in line with UNESCO’s recommendations. This strategic measure seeks to ensure the preservation of the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia and its place among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites“.
Among the changes announced by Ersoy is the introduction of two separate entrances to Hagia Sophia, one for worshippers coming to pray at the mosque and another for tourists visiting the historic building, so that the two groups do not interfere with each other. Regarding the price visitors will pay, the minister stressed that the introduction of an entrance fee is a common practice in many iconic temples around the world, although he declined to say what the entrance fee will be.
“We have not yet set the fees. We will set the prices to be paid before 15 January 2024. Our priority right now is to effectively implement the visitor management plan,” said Ersoy, who insisted that the establishment of an entrance fee for tourists visiting Hagia Sophia from next year aims to regulate the flow of visitors to the building, reduce crowds, and protect the historical and cultural significance of this iconic site, an icon of ancient Constantinople and modern Istanbul.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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