Ancient Hidden Tunnel Network Under Hagia Sophia Could Stretch Up to 9 Kilometers
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Restoration work beneath Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia could give visitors access to parts of an underground network stretching possibly up to 9 kilometers (about 5.6 miles), Turkey’s culture and tourism minister has said. Crews are clearing passages that remain partly blocked by mud, rubble and collapsed sections.
Speaking to reporters in Kahramanmaras on Thursday, September 17, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy described an extensive system of galleries and tunnels beneath the monument. Its full reach remains uncertain as some passages are still inaccessible.
For now, teams are concentrating on the sections they can reach, removing accumulated mud, controlling moisture and making the structures safe. Ersoy said suitable areas could be considered for public access once restoration and scientific investigations are complete. He gave no opening date.
Beneath the Byzantine landmark
The work reaches into a history older, in places, than Hagia Sophia itself. The present building rose between 532 and 537 under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople. Yet a tomb near its northeastern facade dates to the fourth century, well before the church above took shape.
Researchers have been tracing this underground world for years. Architecture professor Hasan Fırat Diker and his team used three-dimensional mapping to document tunnels and water channels beneath and around Hagia Sophia.
Their findings reveal more than a collection of hidden passageways. Much of the underground system served practical purposes, carrying water and providing ventilation. Some routes are so cramped that moving through them is difficult.
“Even breathing is not easy in these tunnels,” Diker told Anadolu during a past visit.
New tunnel passages emerge under Hagia Sophia
The latest cleaning operation, begun in early 2025 under Turkey’s Directorate General of Foundations, is allowing researchers to push beyond what earlier surveys could show. Beneath Hagia Sophia’s former atrium—the courtyard that once stood before its entrance—workers clearing vaulted chambers under archaeological supervision have uncovered previously unknown spaces and connections.
As the debris comes out, the changes made by successive generations become easier to follow. Diker’s research, published this year in Open Archaeology, describes water conduits running in different directions and belonging to different periods. One underground chamber alone contains seven distinct conduits, evidence of a system repeatedly adapted rather than built all at once.
The restoration also extends far above the tunnels. Crews are strengthening Hagia Sophia’s main dome and conserving its mosaics, while further work on the eastern half-dome will address its supporting structure, painted decoration and marble surfaces, according to Ersoy.
He said authorities in Istanbul aim to complete much of the exterior work and remove a substantial portion of the scaffolding before the end of 2027. Work in the lower, less visible parts of Hagia Sophia could continue beyond that point.
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