Chora Church (Kariye Mosque): Tickets, Opening Hours and the Mosaics

The Chora Church, now the Kariye Mosque (Kariye Camii), holds the finest late Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in Istanbul. It stands in Edirnekapı, a quiet residential corner of the old city close to the Theodosian Land Walls, well away from the Sultanahmet crowds. After four years of restoration it reopened in May 2024 as a working mosque, and since August 2024 foreign visitors have been able to see the mosaics again with a paid ticket.

Visiting arrangements are less well documented than at the Ministry of Culture's museums: there is no official web page with hours and prices, and the details below come from the 2024 announcements of the General Directorate of Foundations (Vakıflar) and up-to-date visitor guides. They are correct as of October 2026 as far as we could verify, and we note where sources disagree.

Tickets and opening hours (as of October 2026)

The €20 fee was set when ticketed visits began on 19 August 2024, and current guides still quote it in 2026. We found no official announcement of a change, but entry prices at Istanbul's monuments are revised from time to time, so expect it may rise. Tickets are sold at the booth at the entrance; some resellers offer skip-the-line tickets with an audio guide at a higher price.

Most sources give tourist hours of 09:00 to 18:00, but at least one listing shows a shorter day, and the prayer pauses move with the season. If you are coming a long way, avoid the noon and afternoon prayers and check the daily prayer times for Istanbul before you set off.

A short history

The name Chora means "in the country": the first monastery here stood outside the walls of Constantinople, and kept the name after the Theodosian Walls of the early 5th century brought it inside the city. The present church was rebuilt by Maria Doukaina in the late 11th century and again by Isaac Komnenos in the early 12th century.

Its fame comes from the statesman and scholar Theodore Metochites, who restored and decorated the church between about 1315 and 1321. Around 1500, under Sultan Bayezid II, it was converted into a mosque. In 1945 it was made a museum, and the Byzantine Institute of America uncovered and restored the mosaics and frescoes from 1948, opening it to the public in 1958. A 2020 presidential decree turned it back into a mosque, and it reopened for worship on 6 May 2024.

What to see: the mosaics and frescoes

The decoration is spread over three areas. Take your time: the scenes are small, detailed and meant to be read like a picture book.

• Outer narthex: the entrance hall, with mosaic scenes from the Life of Christ, from the journey to Bethlehem to his miracles.
• Inner narthex: scenes from the Life of the Virgin, the two domes with Christ's ancestors, and the large Deësis mosaic of Christ and the Virgin. Above the door into the main hall, look for the donor mosaic of Theodore Metochites, in his enormous hat, offering a model of the church to Christ.
• Parekklesion: the side funerary chapel, painted in fresco rather than mosaic. The apse holds the Anastasis, Christ pulling Adam and Eve from their tombs, one of the best-known images of Byzantine art. The vault above shows the Last Judgement.
• Main prayer hall (naos): this is now the prayer area. According to recent visitor guides, the three figural mosaics there are covered during use as a mosque, and access may be limited around prayers.

Planning your visit

• Avoid Fridays. The building is open only for worship on Fridays.
• Go at opening time. Tour groups arrive later in the morning, and the narthexes are narrow.
• Dress for a mosque. Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; women cover their hair. Shoes come off where you enter the prayer area. Coverings are sold at the booth if you forget.
• How long to spend. Allow 45 minutes to an hour inside, more if you want to read every scene.
• Is it worth it? If you have seen the mosaics of Hagia Sophia and want more, yes. The Chora's cycles are more complete and closer to eye level, and many visitors rate them as the highlight of Byzantine Istanbul.

How to get to the Chora

The Kariye Mosque is on Kariye Camii Sokak in Edirnekapı, Fatih, about 100 m inside the Land Walls and roughly 6 km from Sultanahmet.

• Tram: take the T1 to Topkapı, change to the T4 and get off at Edirnekapı, then walk 10–15 minutes.
• Metrobus: the Edirnekapı metrobus stop is about a 5-minute walk away; cross by the footbridge.
• Bus from Eminönü: lines such as 31E, 32, 36KE and 37E run to Edirnekapı, then walk 5–10 minutes.
• On foot from Balat: about 15–20 minutes uphill through the residential streets. See our Balat and Fener guide.
• By car: around 20 minutes from Sultanahmet outside rush hour. The streets around the mosque are narrow, so drivers drop off at the nearest convenient point.

Pay for trams, the metrobus and buses with an Istanbulkart; the full fare is ₺46.20 as of October 2026. See our public transport guide.

What to combine it with

• The Land Walls: the 5th-century Theodosian Walls are a few minutes away at Edirnekapı, one of the best places to see them.
• Mihrimah Sultan Mosque: Mimar Sinan's mosque at Edirnekapı, on the highest point of the old city, is a short walk from the Chora.
• Tekfur Palace: the remains of a Byzantine palace on the walls, now a museum run by the Istanbul municipality. We could not verify its current hours and prices, so check before you go.
• Balat and Fener: walk downhill to the colourful houses, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the cafés by the Golden Horn.
• Eyüp and Pierre Loti: further up the Golden Horn, with the Eyüp Sultan Mosque and the cable car to the Pierre Loti hill café.

A good half-day: the Chora at opening time, the walls and Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, then down to Balat for lunch. For a full plan, see our 3-day itinerary and things to do in Istanbul. If you are wondering about passes, note that the Museum Pass Istanbul does not cover the Chora.

Getting there from the airport

Edirnekapı is on the European side, about 40 km from Istanbul Airport. A fixed-price private transfer from Istanbul Airport to Fatih is $65 in a Private Mercedes Vito or $75 in a VIP Vito, and Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet is $70 / $80. For hotels in Balat and along the Golden Horn, see Istanbul Airport to Eyüp ($65 / $75). Prices are per vehicle for up to 6 passengers and 12 suitcases, with tolls and waiting included, and you pay the driver on arrival.

Istanbul VIP is operated by Regatta Turizm (TÜRSAB licence 10138).