The brand new charge of €25 (US$27.31) per individual was displayed on a aspect entrance the place foreigners had been directed.
The principle entrance is now reserved for Turkish residents.
The tickets permit entry to an open tunnel by which guests can go to Hagia Sophia with out disturbing prayers.
Stunned by the brand new observe, solely a handful of holiday makers had been paying the charge on Monday.
“It was free yesterday… (vacationers) are stunned,” admitted an official directing passers-by.
Non-Turkish Muslim guests may also be charged, even when they want to pray, added the official, who wished to stay nameless.
The Hagia Sophia was constructed as a Byzantine cathedral – as soon as the world’s largest – within the sixth century earlier than being transformed right into a mosque following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453.
It was transformed right into a museum as a part of the trendy Turkish republic’s efforts to maneuver in the direction of secularism.
However conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan re-converted it to a mosque in 2020, to the delight of his zealous spiritual supporters and the dismay of secularists.
The change additionally sparked condemnation from Western governments, Russia and Christian leaders.
The entry ticket provides entry to the upstairs gallery and the museum on the Unesco World Heritage website, which is a magnet for vacationers.
Tradition and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy introduced the brand new measure in October.