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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 07 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Dana Facaros

With its 53m-high dome and trademark slender minarets, this is Istanbul’s grandest mosque and a Byzantine beauty. Modelled on the Hagia Sophia and designed by the greatest Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan, it was built in 1558 for the most powerful of Ottoman sultans, Suleyman I, also known as ‘The Magnificent’, and houses the mausoleums of both the sultan and Mimar Sinan.

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

It’s a short walk from the Grand Bazaar/University area (nearest tram stop: Beyazit): get there by way of the evocative Prof Siddik Sami Onar Caddesi, lined with historic teahouses.

Dress respectfully (long trousers and shirt with sleeves for men; knee-length skirt, sleeves and a headscarf for women) and be prepared to leave your shoes at the entrance.

When to do it

The mosque is open all year round, seven days a week, except during prayers (half an hour after the call to prayer). Also avoid the main services on Friday mornings and early afternoons, unless you’re a Muslim.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Highlights of Istanbul: Hagia Sophia - Suleymaniye Mosque - Grand Bazaar

Highlights of Istanbul: Hagia Sophia - Suleymaniye Mosque - Grand Bazaar

Istanbul

First-time travelers can discover the best of Istanbul with this small-group highlights tour, perfect for getting your bearings in this pict...

€25 | Rating 4.86 / 5 [23 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Istanbul Old City: Hagia Sophia - Süleymaniye Mosque - Grand Bazaar

Istanbul Old City: Hagia Sophia - Süleymaniye Mosque - Grand Bazaar

Istanbul

Discover the highlights of Sultanahmet, Istanbul's historic 'old town' on this half-day walking tour. Join your guide for a curated Istanbul...

€27 | Rating 4.70 / 5 [24 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Hotel Bankerhan

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[1.2 miles]

A cool, art-filled boutique hotel near the heart of modern Istanbul’s most fashionable shopping and nightlife district. 

Official star rating:

Yasmak Sultan Hotel

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[1.2 miles]

Close to Istanbul’s top sights, this friendly hotel with a spa and rooftop restaurant is a dream for first-time visitors. And good value too.

Official star rating:

Sirkeci Mansion Hotel

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[1.3 miles]

Convenient for the major sights and plugged into Turkish culture, this charming, historic hotel is ideal for families and first-timers.  

Official star rating:

Hotel Ibrahim Pasha

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[1.4 miles]

This stylish, friendly and affordable boutique hotel is in sights-packed Sultanahmet, perfect for first-time visitors.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Istanbul

Marmara Region, Turkey

Exotic, inexhaustible and dynamic – East meets West head-on in this mesmerising city metropolis, famed for its extraordinarily rich history, superb food and shopping, and mind-blowingly magnificent, over-sized mosques.

Website >
Overview >

Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Spice Bazaar

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[0.5 miles]

Istanbul’s second largest market is a sensory wonderland, full to bursting with fragrant spices and sweets.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

Grand Bazaar

Istanbul, Marmara Region, Turkey[0.7 miles]

The oldest, biggest market in the world that glitters like an Aladdin’s cave. Over 5,000 shops on 66 covered streets.

Best for ages: 8+ | Free

Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

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Corlulu Ali Pasa Medresesi

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Super authentic spot near the Grand Bazaar where you can smoke nargile (a water pipe or hookah) and drink tea in the courtyard of a mosque from 1709.

Best for ages: 18+ | £5

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Museum of Turkish Islamic Arts

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Best for ages: 18+ | £4

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Istanbul , Marmara Region, Turkey[1.7 miles]

A modern art museum housing the finest collection of modern and contemporary art in the country. The Modern’s temporary exhibits by Turkish and international artists – often organized in collaboration with MoMA (New York) and the Centre Pompidou (Paris) – are particularly exceptional.

Best for ages: 18+ | £4

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Great Palace Mosaic Museum

Istanbul , Marmara Region , Turkey[1.8 miles]

Lovely, lively 5th and 6th-century AD mosaics depicting nature, animals and people from the palace of the first Byzantine Emperors.

Best for ages: 18+ | £2

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