Kucuk Ayasofya Camii (Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus)
Istanbul, TurkiyeDetails
About
While Istanbul is known for its large mosques like Hagia Sophia, the smaller ones tend to be well worth a visit as well since they are just as beautiful in their own right. Küçük Ayasofya Camii, also known as Little Hagia Sophia (LHS), is one such mosque. The building was originally built as an Eastern Orthodox church and was converted to a mosque during the Ottoman Empire it remains a mosque today. LHS was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian early in his reign. Some believe it was built to be a model for Hagia Sophia, hence the name Little Hagia Sophia. The building is located in a quiet neighbourhood in the district of Fatih. It actually isn’t too far of a walk from Sultanahmet. In fact, it is only about a 15-20 minute walk from the Blue Mosque/Hagia Sophia area so people really have no excuse not to go see it.
Reviews
daviddJ3376XE This was built as a church during the time of Justinian, and was used to prototype some of the designs for the Hagia Sophia. It was converted into a mosque after the conquest, and has been extensively renovated since, so it now only bears a marginal resemblance to the Hagia Sophia. But it’s a nice place and worth visiting if in this part of Istanbul.
Waza28 Originally a church in 527 then it was turned into a mosque in 1497 by Huseyin Aga. The Mosque is located behind Sultanahmet square, 5 minutes walk away.
Keith1812 Nobody there when we arrived, an absolute gem and another of our favourites. Beautiful and much better than larger and well known ones close by. Known as ‘little’ Haghia Sophia.
worldnomad_01 Little Ayasofya Church (Kucuk Ayasofya Camii), is little known and little visited. It was built in the sixth century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, it has some nice decorations inside, is located in the Fatih district - south of the Hippodrome -, is quiet and worth a short visit.
Ilyas2010 This cute mosque is located just about 50 m away from the water (but there is a busy road in between). It is located down hill from the far end of the hippodrome obelisks near Sultanahmet. Inside the Kucuk Ayasofya there were little corners to hide away and read books.
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