Turkey starts charging foreign tourists to visit Hagia Sophia

Since Jan 15, foreign visitors have to pay a fee of 25 euros to enter the Byzantine basilica of Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's most emblematic monuments. Photo: AFP

Turkey on Monday started charging foreign tourists a hefty fee to visit Istanbul's famed sixth-century monument Hagia Sophia, which was controversially converted into a mosque in 2020.

The new fee of 25 euros (RM128) per person was displayed on a side entrance where foreigners were directed.