Day 01
Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar
- Meet your tour guide and begin your Istanbul tour with a visit to the Blue Mosque, where you will admire its 20,000 blue Iznik ceramic tiles and six towering minarets. Learn how it was built for Sultan Ahmet I and why it was the last great mosque of the Classical period.
- Continue to the Hippodrome, the sporting and social centre of ancient Constantinople. See the German Fountain of Wilhelm II, the Bronze Serpentine Column, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Column of Constantine.
- Stop in front of Hagia Sophia and hear the story of this 6th-century building, constructed by Emperor Justinian as a Greek Orthodox church. Learn how Hagia Sophia transformed over time and how it remained the largest church in the world for 1,000 years.
- Then head to the Basilica Cistern, where you can avoid the hassle of waiting in long ticket lines and uncover the wonders hidden beneath the enchanting streets of Istanbul. Take in its impressive architecture and encounter the legendary Medusa heads from Greek mythology.
- Before reaching the Grand Bazaar, enjoy some time to shop for memorable gifts at a store we will visit or rest for a few minutes. Your tour ends in front of the Grand Bazaar, where your guide will share the story of the oldest and biggest covered market in the world, after which you can explore it on your own.
