Day 1: Arrival to Istanbul
Our representative will meet you at Istanbul Airport holding a sign with your name and transfer you to your hotel. You are free for the rest of the day. You may explore the streets of Istanbul at your own will.
Day 2: Byzantine & Ottoman Imperior Relics Tour Full-Day
Full-Day (08:30-16:30)
Our guide will meet you at your hotel’s lobby at 08:30 and we’ll start the tour of the day.
First, we’ll visit the Blue Mosque, also known as Sultanahmet Mosque, built between the years 1609-1617, best known for its 6 minarets and blue Iznik tiles that lend the mosque its name. Next, we’ll have a stroll around the Hippodrome Square where horse races took place and entertainment, sports, and political activities were organized during the Roman and Byzantine periods. Here, we will see the Serpent Column brought from Delphi in Grecee, the Egyptian Obelisk, the German Fountain of Wilhelm ll, and the tombs of Ottoman sultans and princes. Afterward, we’ll visit Saint Sophia (Hagia Sophia) built by the emperor Justinian in 532 - 537. Designed and built as a church, Hagia Sophia was later converted into a mosque in the Ottoman period and become a museum afterward. Then, we’ll visit Topkapı Palace which served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years, from the 15th to the 19th centuries, and as the home of the Sultans and their families. It hosts an outstanding collection of famous jewels of the Ottoman Imperial Treasury, daggers decorated with precious diamonds and stones, swords, war armors, the Spoonmaker's Diamond, crystals, silver items, and Chinese porcelain, elegant dresses once used by sultans and their families’ members.
Afterward, we’ll have a lunch break at a local restaurant (Included). Finally, we’ll be visiting the Grand Bazaar, the oldest and largest covered bazaar in the world, made up of 61 covered streets. It is home to more than 4.000 shops selling anything you can think of from carpets, jewelry, leather, and souvenirs to garments, bags, decorations, spices, and home textiles in an exotic and unique atmosphere, always bustling with locals and tourists.
End of the tour and transfer to hotel. (Breakfast – Lunch)
Day 3: Bosphorus Cruise, Spice Bazaar Tour – Camlica Hill
Group tour
Istanbul daily group tour start after breakfast at 08:30 with our English guide. Visit Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, which is a very colorful market with an oriental atmosphere that specializes in typical products such as spices, desserts, nuts, and small souvenirs. Next, we’ll drive to Golden Horn for a Bosphorus cruise along the Bosphorus Strait which separates Europe and Asia and connects the Black Sea with the inland Marmara Sea. At the end of the cruise, we take Lunch in a restaurant.
Afterward across the first Bosphorus Bridge and head for the summit of Camlica Hill, which affords panoramic views of Istanbul, the Sea of Marmara and the Prince’s Islands. We will visit the Beylerbeyi Palace one of the most elegant of the late Ottoman palaces, Beylerbeyi boasts six sumptuously furnished reception halls. Transfered back to the hotel at the end of the tour. (Breakfast – Lunch)
Note: This tour is not operated on Monday.
Instend of Camlica Hill on Monday. Bosphorus Cruise, Egyptian Bazaar, Taksim Square and Istaklal Street free time for shopping.
Day 4: Istanbul - Departure Day
Free time until your Istanbul Airport transfer. Transfer from the hotel to Istanbul Airport will be made 3, 5 hours before your flight time. We wish you a good flight! ( Breakfast )
Note: If your flight from Istanbul is after 20:00 pm, you may discover some shopping centers at your own will. Some of the more popular malls are Akmerkez, İstinye Park, Zorlu, Kanyon, Cevahir Mall, Osmanbey, Sisli, Nişantaşı etc.
