Meet your guide at your hotel located within city limits, receive a blue eye-shaped amulet Nazar as a gift, and make yourself comfortable in a personal air-conditioned minivan.
Your first stop will be the Hagia Sophia Museum. You will have a 1-hour excursion and learn the awe-inspiring and puzzling history of this mosque. As you step in the edifice, you will explore the brilliant mastership of Byzantine architectures and mosaic craftsmen and feel a close connection with the past itself.
Your next stop will be the majestic Blue Mosque. You will walk through its halls, enjoy azure handcrafted tiles artfully decorated with traditional floral ornament. You will wander through the splendid chambers of the Topkapi Palace, and gaze at the opulent imperial treasury.After a lunch break at a local restaurant, you will plunge into the chaotic buzz and incredible vividness of the Grand Bazaar. It is the magical world, where you can buy not only cute jewelry and colorful carpets, but find a real antique treasure. There you will grab a cup of flavored Turkish coffee and try an old ritual of fortune-telling.
The last stop is the Bosphorus waterfront, where you will enjoy the picturesque view over the strait and Istanbul. After it, your tour ends with a hotel drop-off.
Optional Early Morning or Evening Visit to Hagia Sophia
If you've decided to visit the Hagia Sophia before the regular opening time of 9 pm, you will become the first guest of the museum and can capture the stunning mosaic in gentle morning lights.
If you've decided to come after the official closing time of 6 pm in winter, or 8 pm in summer, it will become the last spot of your tour, and you can quietly enjoy the stunning interior in the romantic light of the setting sun.The Blue Mosque is an elegant and majestic mosque built in the early 17th century. The edifice is famous for its unique interior. It has six minarets and is decorated with delicately handcrafted tiles of Iznik ceramics in a rich palette of blue color.The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. It has 61 streets, 4400 shops, 2195 tailor shops, 18 fountains, 12 mosques, and 12 warehouses. The bazaar rightfully considered the heart and soul of Istanbul is a place where you can feel the magical charm of the East.The Hagia Sophia is a magnificent pearl of Historic Areas of Istanbul, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It was originally built as the main Orthodox cathedral during the Byzantine Empire, converted into the main mosque after the Ottoman invasion in 1453, and now is a museum.The Topkapi Palace is a palace complex, the ancient residence of the Turkish sultans in Istanbul. The total area of the palace buildings is 70 hectares, and every square meter soaks in gold, luxury and all kinds of treasures.
