Romanesque churches were huge structures, larger and longer than Byzantine churches. Instead of a massive dome as the central focus, they were often more horizontal with towers and arched forms. St. Stephen’s Church, circa 1050 CE, in Waha, Belgium, is an example of a Romanesque structure.

AshlarRoman brick

A key difference between the two is the 4 pointed pillars surrounding the Hagia Sofia, that adds and emphasizes to its outer grandeur. They also present its interior radiance differently in that the Pantheon focuses its dome on a single circular opening, letting in a beam of light that depicts a heavenly presence.

The Hagia Sophia, whose name means “holy wisdom,” is a domed monument originally built as a cathedral in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in the sixth century A.D. It contains two floors centered on a giant nave that has a great dome ceiling, along with smaller domes, towering above.

The Hagia Sophia combines a longitudinal basilica and a centralized building in a wholly original manner, with a huge 32-metre (105-foot) main dome supported on pendentives and two semidomes, one on either side of the longitudinal axis. In plan the building is almost square.

Originally built as a Christian Orthodox church and serving that purpose for centuries, Hagia Sophia was transformed into a mosque by the Ottomans upon their conquest of Constantinople in 1453. In 1934, it was declared a museum by the secularist Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

As of 2020, four Byzantine church museums converted to mosques under Erdogan’s rule (including the Haghia Sophia in İznik (2011), the Chora Church in Istanbul (2019) and the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul (2020)).

Visitors are still welcome to Hagia Sophia, which remains the country’s most popular tourist attraction.

Fortunately, visiting the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul is free of charge.

There is no entrance fee for Hagia Sophia as it is a mosque now. Is Hagia Sophia closed on Mondays? Hagia Sophia is open everyday as it serve as a mosque today.

The Blue Mosque is open every day and free to all visitors. However, tourists cannot visit during prayers which take place multiple times a day: Fajr (İmsak in Turkish): Two hours before dawn.

Topkapi Palace entrance fee is 200 Turkish Liras as of 2021. The museum ticket includes the Hagia Irene Museum and the audio guide. If you want to visit the Harem section, you have to pay an extra fee of 100 TL. Admission is free for children under 8 years.

9 answers. Theree is no fee for the Blue Mosque, however it is closed at prayer times. There is a dress code. Both men and women must have legs covered.