Itinerary

1. Istanbul city tour

   • Pick up from your hotel.

   • Walk to the old part of Istanbul and visit:

     • Hagia Sophia: The Church of Holy Wisdom.
       Hagia Sophia is one of the most prominent monuments in the world in terms of art and architecture history. It was used as a mosque during the Ottoman period, and nowadays it is one of the most visited museums in the world.

     • Byzantine Hippodrome
       Hippodrome provided an unrivalled opportunity to show people the emperor’s power, wealth, and generosity in lavish public entertainments that went on for days at a time, often coinciding with public holidays. The Egyptian Obelisk, the serpentine column, and Will helm II's German fountain are sites to be visited.

     • Blue Mosque
       Its official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, but it is known more popularly as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles that decorate the inside walls. There are some 20,000 or so of them, handmade ceramic tiles that decreased in quality over time due to the sultan fixing the price in advance, and not taking inflation into account.

     • Grand Bazaar
       The oldest and the largest covered market place in the world with more than 4000 shops where handmade carpets, jewellery, leather and souvenirs are sold.

     • Topkapi Palace
       Ottoman Sultans' former imperial residence and one of the oldest and the largest remaining palaces in the world. Today, it is used as a museum to exhibit works of art and many priceless artifacts. The harem section is not included in this tour.

     • Underground Cistern
       The cistern was known in Byzantium as the Basilica Cistern. Justinian was the founder of the largest underground cistern, built after the Nika Revolt in 532. The number of Constantinople inhabitants increased, and there was a problem with water supply, so the Basilica Cistern was used to store water for the Great Palace.