Best Of Istanbul City Tour

Duration: 8 hours (approx.)
Highlights: Sultanahmet Mosque/Blue Mosque, Roman Hippodrome and Monuments, Hagia Sophia Museum, Bosphorus Cruise, Rumeli Fortress (From the sea), Cable Car to Pierre Loti, Rustem Pasha Mosque.
Operates: Maximum of 12 guests – Guaranteed daily departure from all Istanbul city hotels & cruise port.
Price: 67.99 Euro p/p (Small group guided tour – including lunch).

After pick up from either your hotel or the Istanbul cruise port, you will visit the following sights with an experienced and licensed professional guide:

Underground Cistern: Built by Justinian after 532, the Basilica Cistern stored water for the Great Palace and nearby buildings. Lost to memory, it was rediscovered by PetrusGyllius, who came to Constantinople in search of Byzantine monuments. Gyllius, who noticed that the local people were lowering buckets through holes in the floors of their houses to retrieve water, found an entrance and thus put this mysterious subterranean architectural surprise back on the map. A mesmerizing attraction, sure to please!

Sultanahmet Mosque/Blue Mosque: This mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I between 1609 and 1616 and is located in the district of old Istanbul that is named after this Ottoman Sultan and it is distinguished by its six slender minarets. The central dome is 43 m in height and 33.4 m in diameter and there are 260 stained glass windows throughout the mosque. Due to the intricately decorated blue, green and red tiles of its interior, it has long been referred to as the Blue Mosque. The Quranic inscriptions that you will see throughout the mosque were made by SeyyidKasımGubari, one of the most famous calligraphers of his time.

Roman Hippodrome and Monuments: The ancient Hippodrome was the center of Byzantine social life and the scene of fiercely competitive chariot races. It was located in the square that is now in front of the Blue Mosque and is still the site of ancient relics from its glory days. These are the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. Remains of the curved end of the Hippodrome wall can be seen on the southwest side of the three monuments.

Hagia Sophia Museum: The Hagia Sophia that you can visit today was the primary church of Byzantine Constantinople and was built upon the site of two earlier churches that had been destroyed. Emperor Justinian I (527-565) commissioned the project and had materials brought in from all around his empire for the massive church’s construction. The Hagia Sophia was the most important church of the Christian East. Structurally, it was the first of its design and boasted the largest dome that had yet been engineered which provided a voluminous and  well illuminated interior. After Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque and was used as such throughout the Ottoman period. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the modern Turkish Republic’s most revered founding father and its first Prime Minister, initiated the process to have the Hagia Sophia transformed into a museum which opened for visitors in February 1935.

Bosphorus Cruise: We will cruise on the Bosphorus to allow you the prime perspective from which to view the fine palaces, pavilions, Ottoman houses and seaside neighborhoods along the shores of this famous and historic waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Maramara Sea.

Rumeli Fortress (From the sea): The largest fortification for the protection of Istanbul built by Sultan Mehmet II in 1451 before his conquest of the city. This garrison is well preserved and its towers and walls can be seen clearly as our boat passes by.

Cable Car to Pierre Loti: Enjoy the beautiful view from the cable car as you climb the hill to the cafe named for the famous French writer and naval officer, Louis Marie JulienViaud a.k.a. Pierre Loti (1850 -1923), who wrote fiction based on his experiences in Istanbul .

Rustem Pasha Mosque: This majestic and surprising little mosque was designed by the most famous of Ottoman architects, MimarSinan, for the Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha who had married Princess Mihrimah, one of the daughters of  SultanSuleyman the Magnificent. Its construction took place from 1561 to 1563. The mosque is famous for its exquisite tiles from Iznik that are set in beautiful floral and geometric arrangements and which cover not only the facade of the porch but also the mihrab, minbar, walls, and columns of the interior.

Why Tour Istanbul With Us?
* Special designed day trips/excursions with best price guarantee.
* Professional & reliable travel services.
* Informative, responsible & specialist tour guides.
* 24/7 Local support.
* Accredited by Association of Turkish Travel Agencies for Istanbul & Turkey. License No. A-7639 Alazmu

Best Price Guarantee:
* If you book one of our Turkey day tours or attractions, and then you find the same product for the same date on an other website, at a lower price ..we’ll refund you the difference!!

Please take note of the following:
* We aim to respond to all travel requests within 12 hours.
* Children: {0 – 2} free, {3 – 7} 30 % discount.
* In the event of any museum closures, an alternative similar museum will be visited

Included services for this Istanbul city tour:
* Pick up & drop off from Istanbul hotels (on European side of Istanbul only) & Istanbul cruise port.
* Transportation with A/C non-smoking deluxe vehicle throughout the trip.
* Professional tour guide licensed by the Ministry of Tourism.
* All entrance fees to the archaeological sites and museums, parking and road tolls.
* Lunch at local restaurant (set menu – vegetarian meals available – drinks extra)
* Local taxes.