The Hagia Sophia doesn't have those kind of issues because the Turkish government keeps them out. That place is pretty impressive, in terms of visiting historical religious sites. The Ottomans didn't tear out the Byazantine iconography, they just plastered over it. Now that has been mostly removed so you can see the Islamic script stuff as well as the original Byzantine stuff, side by side. It is a little surreal to see a gold and gemstone mosaic of Christ or a saint surrounded by Islamic script. They won't let you get on the coronation square though. That's a bummer.
Interestingly, the reason the Ottomans didn't destroy Eastern Orthodox iconography or churches is because they felt it was in poor taste to destroy cherished works. They instead converted them to their purposes, just covering up the stuff that didn't belong. It's sad that ISIS and Taliban types don't see the intrinsic value of art and relics.
Do you want to go to the Chapel, Museum, St Peters, Plaza; then No. You want to see any of the 60+ other features and Green Space then the answer is No; they are locked behind a big wall and Army. They don't let you in with a Passport or Visa.
Couple of years ago I was there between Easter and the canonization of Pope John Paul. Pretty much every Catholic in the world was there.
Sanders "bona fides" emerge: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...nders-1963-chicago-arrest-20160219-story.html
But that civil rights guy in Atlanta said he didn't see Bernie in Atlanta, so we should vote for Hillary.