Day 01
Dolmabahçe Palace, Golden Horn and Bosphorus Cruise
- Connect with your tour guide and start the tour by exploring Dolmabahçe Palace, a blend of various European architectural styles, built between 1843 and 1856 by Karabet Balyan, the court architect of Sultan Abdulmecid. This three-storied palace, built on a symmetrical plan, has 285 rooms and 43 halls. The palace has survived intact with its original decorations, furniture, and silk carpets and curtains. It surpasses all other palaces in the world in wealth and magnificence. (Harem is not included.)
- Then, go shopping, as Turkey is one of the best leather-producing countries in the world. Watch a fashion show in an outlet center that produces and manufactures different high-quality leatherware. So, it is a good opportunity to have a look at reasonably priced, good-quality leather accessories. (Optional due to high traffic jams and long lines for the palace.)
- Next, head to the City Walls, first breached by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and later by the cannons and troops of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453.
- Transfer by bus to the Golden Horn, a natural and extremely secure harbour. The Golden Horn has played an important role in the development of İstanbul. The inlet separates the European shore into two. It is approximately 8 km long, and the widest part is the entrance from the Bosphorus. Two streams drain into this inlet at its far end.
- Now, go for a boat trip on the Bosphorus, an amazing cruise between the two continents, Europe and Asia, passing Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi Palaces, wooden villas, and mansions up to Rumeli Fortress.
- Afterwards, proceed to Rumeli Fortress. (No interior visit.) İstanbul had been besieged many times before Mehmet the Conqueror took the city in 1453, but it managed to defend itself with the help of the Roman city walls.
