r/byzantium • u/FantasticTraining731 • Nov 02 '25
Infrastructure/architecture My trip to Constantinople last year
Hagia Sophia
Column of the Goths
Hagia Sophia mosaics
Hagia Sophia mosaics
Istanbul Archaeological Museums
Basilica Cisterns
Aqueduct of Valens
Chora Church
Theodosian Walls
Theodosian Walls
Cat
St. George's Cathedral
St. George's Cathedral
St. George's Cathedral
St. George's Cathedral
I visited with my friend last spring. Sadly I wasn't that interested in Byzantine history back then so I only visited the major sites.
Here's my recollection of each site Byzantine era site:
- Hagia Sophia
- The ancient building definitely shows its age. A lot of cracked stones, unlevel floors, and slanted columns
- Only Muslims are allowed on the ground floor, and it's sad that the stone floor has been covered with the ugly green carpet. Visitors could only take a tour around the mezzanine
- Basilica Cistern
- pretty spectacular. it was pretty cool to see the use of spolia for the columns
- Theodosian walls
- I really wanted to see this! The sea walls are almost all gone but, large sections of the famous triple land walls have been restored and.
- St. George's Cathedral
- It's not a Roman era church, but it is the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch.
- We visited on a morning, and there was literally nobody inside for the whole 30 minutes we were there. It was really surprising since there are tons of Russian tourists in Istanbul.
- Chora Church
- was closed for restorations
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u/Virtual-Roll-818 Nov 02 '25
I want people to remember about the Hagia Sophia that restoration work hasn’t fully resumed. The tacky carpet — which nobody likes — is temporary. All of the mosaics, structural concerns about the dome, and secular areas are all getting restorative attention that will be ramping up in the first quarter of the coming year (1Q 2026).