Day 01
Spice Bazaar, Bosphorus Cruise and Beylerbeyi Palace
- Pick up from the hotel and join your Istanbul tour guide.
- Visit the Spice Bazaar, the second-largest covered bazaar in Istanbul after the Grand Bazaar. It is well known for its herbalists, and the Egyptian Bazaar offers traditional natural medicines, spices, flower seeds, roots, and shells of rare plants, along with dried nuts and fruits, deli products, and various Turkish delights.
- After the Spice Bazaar, drive along the shore of the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus and the natural harbour of Old Istanbul.
- Embark on your boat for an unforgettable cruise on the Bosphorus, the strait that runs through unique Istanbul, a city standing on two different continents between Asia and Europe.
- During the cruise, enjoy the chance to view the peerless sights adorning the Asian and European shores, such as 19th-century wooden mansions, Rumeli Fortress, built in only three months by Mehmet the Conqueror, Anatolian Fortress, the fanciful Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi palaces, and hunting lodges.
- After the cruise, drive to the restaurant for lunch. Lunch includes traditional Anatolian lentil soup, seasonal garden greens salad, marinated chicken kebab in a clay bowl served with rice and boiled seasonal vegetables, and Şekerpare dessert. Şekerpare is one of the many delectable and popular desserts in Turkish cuisine. A vegetarian menu is also available.
- Drive across the Bosphorus Bridge, which was first built to link the Asian and European continents.
- Proceed to Çamlıca Hill, the highest point of Istanbul, for a breathtaking panoramic view of the Bosphorus, Prince's Islands, and Istanbul.
- Head to Beylerbeyi Palace, the summer palace of the Ottoman sultans. Its interior and exterior decoration is a rare specimen of a blend of Eastern, Turkish, and Western motifs. The original furniture, carpets, and other fixtures have been preserved very well.
- Drive back to the hotel at the end of the tour.
