Religious Sites in Istanbul: Top Places

Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. It was formerly a church (360–1453) and a museum (1935–2020). The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in AD 537, becoming the world's largest interior space and among the first to employ a fully pendentive dome. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture". From its dedication in 360 until 1453, Hagia Sophia served as the cathedral of Constantinople in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, except for the period 1204–1261 when the Latin Crusaders installed their own hierarchy. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, it served as a mosque, having its minarets added soon after. The site became a museum in 1935, and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020.

Religious Sites

Religious Sites

Religious Sites

Panayia Belgradu Kilisesi in Fatih district is a Greek Orthodox church built in 1523 by Serbian Orthodox settlers brought from Belgrade. Initially dedicated to St. Paraskevi, the church was later dedicated to the Nativity of Mary after relics were moved. The church was rebuilt in 1837 and most recently restored in 1999. It is located within walking distance of İstanbul Walls (199 m), Belgrad Kapı (125 m), and Altın Kapı (797 m).

Saint George of Samatya or Surp Kevork is an Armenian church in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Church of St. Polyeuctus was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus. Intended as an assertion of Juliana's own imperial lineage, it was a lavishly decorated building, and the largest church of the city before the construction of the Hagia Sophia.

Surp Boğos Church, located in Sarıyer, Istanbul, is an Armenian Catholic place of worship. Initially built as a wooden chapel in 1847, it was reconstructed in masonry in 1882 and opened for worship in 1885. The church, notable for its Neo-Gothic exterior design, is within 142 meters walking distance of the Sadberk Hanım Museum. The church was built by Boğos Amira Bilezikçiyan.

Religious Sites

Zeyrek Mosque or the Monastery of the Pantokrator, is a large mosque on the Fazilet Street in the Zeyrek district of Fatih in Istanbul, overlooking the Golden Horn. It is made up of two former Byzantine churches and a chapel joined together and represents the best example of Middle Byzantine architecture in Constantinople. After Hagia Sophia, it is the largest Byzantine religious edifice still standing in Istanbul.

The Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. Its construction was started under the orders of the future Grand Vizier Hadım Atik Ali Pasha in 1496, and was completed in 1497, during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. The mosque is located near the entrance to the Kapalıçarşı, the Column of Constantine, and the historical Nuruosmaniye Mosque.

The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named after Rüstem Pasha, who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman I, it was designed by the Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in around 1563. The mosque is noted for the many different designs of İznik tiles that cover almost every vertical surface both in the interior and under the entrance porch.

The Mahmut Pasha Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque near the Grand Bazaar in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey.

The Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque is a mosque at the heart of a complex designed and built between 1580 and 1587 by Mimar Sinan, who at the time was in his 90s. The mosque itself was constructed in 1578–1580. The complex is located in the Tophane neighbourhood of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey.

Atik Mustafa Pasha Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. In Çember Sokak in the neighbourhood of Ayvansaray, in the district of Fatih, Istanbul, it lies just inside the walled city at a short distance from the Golden Horn, at the foot of the sixth hill of Constantinople. The dedication of the church is obscure.

The Fatih Mosque is an Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles. Seriously damaged in the 1766 earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1771 to a different design.

Hagia Irene or Hagia Eirene, sometimes known also as Saint Irene, is a former Eastern Orthodox church located in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. It is the oldest known church structure in the city and one of only two Byzantine churches still standing in Istanbul today that were never converted into mosques, alongside the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols, as it was used as an arsenal for storing weapons until the 19th century. The Hagia Irene now operates as a museum and concert hall.

The Cave Monastery of İnceğiz is a cave monastery formed by carving a rocky cliff located in İnceğiz village of Çatalca district in Istanbul Province, northwestern Turkey. İnceğiz village is located about 9 km northwest of Çatalca. The cave monastery is situated at Karasu Valley overlooking Karasu Creek.

Aya Dimitri Church or Ayios Dimitrios Kanunu Church is a Greek Orthodox church located in Ayvansaray, Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey. The church, built in 1204, was rebuilt from scratch in 1730 during the reign of Patriarch Paisios II.

Religious Sites

Panagia Paramythia Church is a church in the Fener district of Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. It is also known as Panayia Vlahsaray Greek Orthodox Church. It is registered as a first-degree historical monument.

Religious Sites

The Chora Church or Kariye Mosque was a Byzantine church, now converted to a mosque, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood of Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey. It is famous for its outstanding Late Byzantine mosaics and frescos.

The Şehzade Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent as a memorial to his son Şehzade Mehmed who died in 1543. The mosque was one of the earliest and most important works of architect Mimar Sinan and is one of the signature works of Classical Ottoman architecture.