Halfday Historical City Tour
Without being one, you can start feeling like a local following our guide's explanations. So before you get a grip of it, here's a chance for a short guided tour to the core of Istanbul...
Highlights: Roman Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Treasury, Grand Bazaar
Departure for city tour with a visit to the main historical center of Istanbul, Sultanahmet with its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman monuments. The monuments to be visited are the Blue Mosque, Roman Hippodrome and the Topkapi Palace with its Treasury and the Grand Bazaar.
Transfer from the hotel to the historical center Sultanahmet. Walking tour starting with the Roman Hippodrome and the monuments lined up along the spina of the original hippodrome built by Emperor Septimus Severus in 203 AD. Obelisk of Theodosius, walled column, serpentine column from Delphi and the German Fountain, gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamit II will be viewed.
Continue with the Blue Mosque built by Sultan Ahmet I in 1616, locally called Sultanahmet Mosque but known by its blue Iznik tiles and also famous for its unique 6 minarets. Modest attire recommended. Plastic bag for shoes will be provided as you will have to remove your shoes before entering the mosque.
Continue with the Topkapi Palace. Until finally being abandoned to more modern palaces in the middle of the 19th century the palace served as the residence of the Ottoman Sultans as well as the center of administration for 4 centuries. The Treasury, housing such exquisite masterpieces as the Topkapi dagger and the Spoonmaker’s diamond will be visited.
Continue with the Grand Covered Bazaar (Kapalicarsi), a maze of 58 alleys and more than 4.000 shops. Dating from the early days of Ottoman rule in Istanbul, the bazaar houses shops selling local craftsmanship, jewelry, pottery, spices, traditional costumes, belly dancer outfits, leather, carpets and evil eye objects among other souvenir articles.
Lunch not included.
Return to the hotel after the tour.
