ITINERARY

• Istanbul is a bridge between Europe and Asia, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean, a position that endows it with one of the most unique and beautiful settings in the world. For, between the hills on the European and Asiatic shores flows the Bosphorus, the brightest gem in the diadem of nature.
• It stands on the European shore of the Bosphorus and the with its various dependencies forms almost a little town, its gardens extending for a mile or more along the water's edge. Though the exterior of the Dolmabahce Palace, built by Sultan Abdülmecit (1839-1861) exhibits a variety of architectural styles, mainly baroque, and is decorated with a profusion of ornament, the general effect is not unpleasing, and the site is remarkably well-chosen. The heart of thePuildiny is chandeliers and a musician's gallery. Its interior, like that of other palaces, glitters with gilded decorations, costly chandeliers and mirrors, priceless porcelains, and gorgeous brocades of gold and silver tissue. The vast gardens were originally laid out by European landscape architects and comprise parterres and fountains. Built by architect Balyan Usta in 1853, the palace has a 600 meters long marble pier and landing stages that run splendidly along the Bosphorus.
• Galataport is a 400,000-square-metre mixed-use development located along 1.2 km of shore in the Karaköy neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey on the European shore of the Bosporus strait near its confluence with the Golden Horn right in the heart of the city
• Karaköy is a happening harborside area where funky cafes and late-night cocktail bars mix with traditional neighborhood bakeries and family-run shops. Ottoman-era buildings splashed with street art house the studios and boutiques of young fashion designers, and there's also a vibrant contemporary art gallery scene. The 16th-century Kılıç Ali Paşa complex includes a mosque and thermal baths.
• The Galata Bridge is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. From the end of the 19th century in particular, the bridge has featured in Turkish literature, theater, poetry and novels.
• The Galata Tower, or with the current official name Galata Kulesi Museum, is a tower in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after the quarter in which it is located, Galata.
• The Golden Horn is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Harborside Eminönü buzzes with activity as boats unload passengers at the ferry docks near the city's bazaars. The Egyptian Bazaar, or Spice Bazaar, has stalls full of fruit, teas, and spices, while the halls of the Grand Bazaar are a colorful jumble of carpets, fabrics, lamps, and jewelry. The Süleymaniye Mosque towers over the area, and the 16th-century Rustem Pasha Mosque is famed for its Iznik tiles.
• The Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey is one of the largest bazaars in the city. Located in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaa
• Sarayburnu is a promontory quarter separating the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul, Turkey. The area is where the renowned Topkapı Palace and Gülhane Park stand. Sarayburnu is included in the historic areas of Istanbul, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.
• The famous station, from where the Orient Express started its way from Istanbul to Paris since 1883.
• Haydarpaşa station is a railway station in Istanbul, that was, until 2012 the main city terminal for trains travelling to and from the Anatolian side of Turkey. It used to be Turkey's busiest railway station
• The Maiden's Tower, also known as Leander's Tower since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, 200 m from the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. The tower appeared on the reverse of the Turkish 10 lira banknote from 1966 to 1981
• The Bosporus Strait or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Turkey. It forms part of the continental boundary between Asia and Europe, and divides Turkey by separating Anatolia from Thrace.
• Küçüksu Pavilion, Littlewater Pavilion a.k.a. Göksu Pavilion, is a summer pavilion in Istanbul, Turkey, situated in the Küçüksu neighborhood of Beykoz district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus between Anadoluhisarı and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
• Anadoluhisarı, known historically as Güzelce Hisar is a medieval Ottoman fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey on the Anatolian side of the Bosporus.
• The Beylerbeyi Palace is located in the Beylerbeyi neighbourhood of Üsküdar district in Istanbul, Turkey, at the Asian side of the Bosphorus. An Imperial Ottoman summer residence built between 1861 and 1865, it is now situated immediately north of the first Bosphorus Bridge
• The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge, is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus strait. When completed in 1988, it was the 5th-longest suspension bridge span in the world.
• Rumelihisarı or Boğazkesen Castle is a medieval fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey, on a series of hills on the European banks of the Bosphorus. The fortress also lends its name to the immediate neighborhood around it in the city's Sarıyer district
• Ortaköy Mosque or Büyük Mecidiye Camii in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, is a mosque situated at the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. It was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I and its construction was completed around 1854 or 1856.