ITINERARY

• This captivating Istanbul excursion commences at the hotel. A warm welcome awaits you from our friendly driver just out in the hotel hall. Step into a comfortable, air-conditioned private vehicle, embarking on a 15 minutes journey through the scenic beauty of Istanbul.
• The Sultanahmet district is famous for being home to the majestic Ottoman-era Blue Mosque with its iconic minarets, as well as the famous mosaic-decorated Hagia Sophia Mosque. Sultanahmet Square has a park, gardens and fountains, as well as the Egyptian obelisk of Theodosius, and the 4th-century Miliarium is nearby. Popular area with many shops, hotels and traditional eateries.
• Sultanahmet Square is the main square of Istanbul, located in the historical center of the city in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Fatih district. The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (ἵππος), horse, and dromos (δρόμος), path or way. For this reason, it is sometimes also called Atmeydanı ("Horse Square") in Turkish. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.
• А gazebo styled fountain in the northern end of old hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square), Istanbul, Turkey and across from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain's octagonal dome has eight marble columns, and dome's interior is covered with golden mosaics.
• A Roman monument in the form of an obelisk in the former Hippodrome of Constantinople, now Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated west of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, at the southern end of the ancient chariot-racing track of Constantinople's central barrier, beside the Obelisk of Theodosius and the Serpentine Column. Its original construction date in late antiquity is unknown, but it is sometimes named Constantine's Obelisk (Konstantin Dikilitaşı) after the inscription added by the Roman emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, who repaired it in the 10th century.
• The Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople (known today as At Meydanı or Sultanahmet Meydanı, in the modern city of Istanbul, Turkey) by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.
• The Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet Mosque, is the first most important mosque in Istanbul. It has six minarets: four, as usual, on the sides, and two slightly less tall ones on the outer corners. Considered an outstanding example of Islamic and world architecture
• Hagia Sophia - the Wisdom of God, Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia - a former patriarchal Orthodox cathedral located in the historical center of modern Istanbul in the Sultanahmet district. A world-famous monument of Byzantine architecture, a symbol of the “golden age” of Byzantium.
• Topkapi or Topkapi, obsolete. The Seraglio was the main palace of the Ottoman Empire until the mid-19th century. Located in the historical center of Istanbul, on Cape Sarayburnu, at the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn into the Sea of Marmara. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the palace was turned into a museum - one of the largest in area in the world
• Located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coast of the Bosporus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1887 and from 1909 to 1922 (Yıldız Palace was used in the interim period).
• Çırağan Street is a street located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, extending from Beşiktaş Square to Ortaköy. There are old poplar trees lined up on both sides of the street. On the street, there are the old courthouse building (Fatih Sultan Mehmet University campus), Bahçeşehir University Beşiktaş Campus, Four Seasons Hotel, Beşiktaş Anatolian High School, Çırağan Palace, Galatasaray University, Kabataş Boys' High School and Ziya Kalkavan Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, which are among the important buildings of Istanbul. . While going from Beşiktaş to Ortaköy, there is Yıldız Park on the left side of the street and Yıldız Police Station at the entrance of the park. Beşiktaş District Governorship and Beşiktaş District Police Department are also important public buildings located on the street.
• The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. Located in the old part of Istanbul and occupies 30,700 m². There are more than 4,000 shops on the 66 streets of the bazaar. Over half a million visitors and tourists visit it every day.
• As part of the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosporus has always been of great importance from a commercial and military point of view, and it remains strategically important today. It is a major sea access route for numerous countries.
• A historic district in Besiktas in Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Bebek is surrounded by historical places such as Etilar, Arnavutkoy and Rumelihisar. On the shore of the area there is a bay of the same name. The name of the area, Bebek, literally translates from Turkish as Child. It is believed that the name comes from the abbreviated Boğaz'ın Gözbebeği, which literally translates as the Pupil of the Bosphorus, or, more literally, the Apple of the Eye of the Bosphorus.
• A medieval Ottoman 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. Conceived and built between 1451 and 1452 CE on the orders of Sultan Mehmed II, the complex was commissioned in preparation for a planned Ottoman siege on the then-Byzantine city of Constantinople, with the goal of cutting off maritime military and logistical relief that could potentially come to the Byzantines' aid by way of the Bosphorus Strait, hence the fortress's alternative name, "Boğazkesen", i.e. "Strait-cutter" Castle. Its older sister structure, Anadoluhisari ("Anatolian Fortress"), sits on the opposite banks of the Bosporus, and the two fortresses worked in tandem during the final siege to throttle all naval traffic along the Bosphorus, thus helping the Ottomans achieve their goal of making the city of Constantinople
• Ortakoy is a historical district in Besiktas in Istanbul, Turkey, located in the middle of the European shore of the Bosphorus Strait. Until the mid-20th century, significant communities of Greeks, Jews and Armenians lived in the area.
• Kanlıca is a neighborhood on the Asian side of the Bosphorus strait, in the Beykoz district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Kanlica is known for its popular specialty, yogurt topped with castor sugar, offered in local restaurants and cafés.
• The southernmost of the three suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi) in Istanbul, Turkey, thus connecting Europe and Asia (alongside Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge). The bridge extends between Ortaköy (in Europe) and Beylerbeyi (in Asia).
• The Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge is the second suspension bridge across the Bosphorus Strait. It connects the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. The length of the bridge is 1510 meters, the length of the main span is 1090 m, the width of the bridge is 39 m, the height of the supports is 165 m above the water. From the roadway to the surface of the water - 64 meters.
• Beylerbeyi Palace is the summer residence of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire, located on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. The palace was commissioned by Sultan Abdul Aziz and built between 1861–1865 in a neo-baroque style, but based on the traditional house plan characteristic of the Ottoman Empire.
• Maiden Tower - located in the Asian part of Istanbul on a small island of the Bosphorus Strait in the Usküdar district. The tower is one of the symbols of the city. Depicted, in particular, on Aivazovsky’s canvas “View of the Leander Tower in Constantinople”
• Küçüksu or Göksu is the villa of Sultan Abdulmecid on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus in Beykoz, between the Anatolian Fortress and the Sultan Mehmed Bridge. This is a striking monument to the Ottoman Baroque - the style practiced by the Armenian architects of Balyan
• The Anatolian Fortress is a small fortress located in the Asian part of Istanbul on the banks of the Bosphorus. It is the oldest Turkish architectural structure in Istanbul.
• A major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the Golden Horn help define the northern boundary of the peninsula constituting "Old Istanbul" (ancient Byzantium and Constantinople), the tip of which is the promontory of Sarayburnu, or Seraglio Point. This estuarial inlet geographically separates the historic center of Istanbul from the rest of the city, and forms a horn-shaped, sheltered harbor that in the course of history has protected Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other maritime trade ships for thousands of years.
• Sarayburnu; known in English literature as the Seraglio, a cape separating the Golden Horn from the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul, Turkey. It is home to the famous Topkapi Palace and Gulhane Park. Sarayburnu is located in the historical part of Istanbul and was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985
• The Golden Horn is a narrow, curved bay that flows into the Bosphorus Strait at its junction with the Sea of Marmara. It is located mostly within the Turkish city of Istanbul, dividing its European part into northern and southern halves.
• Galata Tower is located in the European part of Istanbul on a high hill in the Galata district. It can be seen from almost all points of the central part of the city. The height of the tower is 67 meters, diameter - 9 meters, height above sea level - 140 meters. The tower is one of the symbols of the city.
• After the guided tour, relish in 1 hours 45 minutes of free time. Your guide will drop you off at a convenient location, allowing you to indulge in some shopping.
• After a day filled with delights, our comfortable private vehicle will whisk you back to your hotel, brimming with cherished memories. Trust our decade-long expertise in organizing shore excursions and exploring the shores with utmost comfort and peace of mind. Booking a tour can be daunting, but not with us!