Istanbul Day Tours

Brief Information

Blue Mosque ( Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii )

Blue Mosque Was built by Sultan Ahmet I during 1609-1616 in the square carrying his name in Istanbul. It is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. The central dome is 43 m in height and is 33.4 m in diameter. 260 windows surround the mosque. Due to its beautiful blue, green and white tilings it has been named the "Blue Mosque" by Europeans. The inscriptions were made by Seyyid Kasım Gubari.

Roman Hippodrome and Obelisk ( Turkish: Obelisk )

The ancient Hippodrome, scene of chariot races and the centre of Byzantine civic life, stands in the area that is now in front of the Blue Mosque, and now part of Sultanahmet. Of the ornaments which once decorated it, only three remain: 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.

Hagia Sophia Basilica ( Turkish: Ayasofya )

The primary church in Constantinople, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), is inaugurated after being rebuilt by Emperor Justinian I (527-565). After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 Hagia Sophia became a mosque and is now a museum. The church of Hagia Sophia was the most important church of the Christian East. It was also structurally the first of its design, with the biggest dome ever constructed for a church, which created a light, well illuminated interior. The same year Justinian ordered to build a new basilica, the one we can see today, and only five years later, 537 AD, it was opened to the public. In 1453, with the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted the church into a mosque. Hagia Sophia Museum, the legacy of both Christian and Muslim culture, was opened for visits according to the order of Ataturk and decision of the Turkish Assembly of Ministers on the 1st of February, 1935.

Grand Covered Bazaar ( Turkish: Kapali Çarki)

This bazaar was first built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and was expanded during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), and reached its present form in 1701. Its extends over 65 streets, covering an area of 30.702 square meters. It contains a mosque, 21 inns, two vaulted bazaars, seven fountains, a well and 3300 shops. It possesses 18 gates, eight of them large, ten of then smaller. It has survived five fires, and has been restored and repaired and has reached our present times.

Topkapi Palace ( Turkish: Topkapi Sarayı )
Imperial residence of Ottoman Sultans, the maze of buildings that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centruies. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed. A magnificent wooded garden fills the outer, or first, court. In the second court, on the right, shaded by cyprees and plane trees,stand the palace kitchens, which now serve as galleries exhibiting the imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. Today the third court holds the Hall of Audience, the Library of Ahmet III, an exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts. In the center of this innermost sanctuary, the Prophet Muhammet (S.A.V) brought to Istanbul when the Ottomans assumed the caliphaten of Islam.

Little Hagia Sophia: (Turkish: Kucuk Ayasofya Mosque)
Little Hagia Sophia, formerly the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus is a former Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople.The church is now a mosque called Küçük Ayasofya Camii (Little Hagia Sophia Mosque) is Byzantine building with a central dome plan was erected in the 6th century and was a model for the Hagia Sophia, the main church of the Byzantine Empire. It is one of the most important early Byzantine buildings in Istanbul

CLOSED

Hagia Sophia on Monday - Replaced with Kariye (St. Savior in Chora) Museum Grand Covered Bazaar on Sunday

Topkapi Palace on Tuesday - Replaced with Beylerbeyi or Dolmabahce Palace or Chora Church

Please take note of the following

• 30% discount for children below the age 7, free for the ages 0-2
• You are kindly requested to present your self at the pick up point 15 mnts before.

What's Included

Transfers

• Pick up and Drop off at hotel in Istanbul
• All Transportation

Tours

• Full Day Guided Byzantine and Ottoman Tour
• Museum Tickets
• Professional English Speaking Tour Guide
• All Transportation
• Hotel pick up and drop off in Istanbul
• Lunch

Taxes and Charges

• Local Taxes
• Service Charges