Istanbul: Basilica Cistern & Hagia Sophia Combo Ticket

The company is great. It was easy to acquire the tickets and the guides were nice and knowledgeable. If you decide to go to these attractions, I would highly recommend using this company. As far as going to Hagia Sophia goes, DO NOT waste your money to go to this attraction. It is not how it used to be, you will not be allowed to first floor, they carpeted everywhere, they removed all the Byzantine artifacts, it is waste of your time and money. Just google it and look at the old photos. I have been to Hagia Sophia so many times in the past 30 years. This time was waste of my time. And it is SAD as well how this beautiful historical place, where West and East met been destroyed, and disrespected. If you want to see a beautiful mosque, go to Blue Mosque. It is a shame, I am very disappointed.

As we went on a Saturday it was great that we could skip the line to both of these monuments. The Cistern in particular had a line around the corner and we were able to simply walk in.

The ticketing was pretty straight forward. Word to the wise: get there at 8:00 am to avoid the onslaught of cruise ship and travel groups that swarm these locales at around 9:30. When we got there, there were just a few people in front of us and in the site. By the time we left, there were hundreds of people in the cue. Also, beware of "chicken hawks" that prey on tourists under the guise of a "friend" not a "tour guide." Specifically Omar Rugs who station their high pressured salesmen outside the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. They pretend to be friendly but are trying to corner you in their shop and aggressively persuade you to buy their overpriced merchandise. You would do well to ignore random men walking up to you and offering you unsolicited advice.