Istanbul Tour

The Way of Exploring Istanbul Like a Local

Explore the glory of the three old Empires; Roman, Byzantium and Ottoman Empires on this full day Istanbul guided tour.

This Istanbul Tour will make sure that you get to visit all the important sights in the city while providing you the ultimate experience. Be picked up from your hotel by our vehicle and enjoy guided tours all throughout the day.

You'll start at the iconic Ancient Hippodrome, a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Then proceed to the Blue Mosque, an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque and famous for its six minarets. After that, you'll walk to Hagia Sophia, once a church and then a mosque in 1453. The next sight to visit is the Topkapi Palace, an amazing museum which served as the main residence of Ottoman sultans during the 15th century. Learn about the interesting story and colorful history of Topkapi Palace from your friendly tour guide. We will then take you to a rooftop terrace restaurant where you can have delicious lunch while you see the breathaking views of the Bosphorus and Istanbul panaroma from a different perspective. The last stop of this Istanbul City tour will be the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m², attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

Istanbul Tour is a full day guided City tour that covers all the "must-see" sights on a single day. Picture yourself in Istanbul, wandering around Sultanahmet sightseeing world-famous landmarks, or standing in front of the Obelisk, The Obelisk of Theodosius is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.

The places you will visit on this Istanbul Tour;

Roman Hippodrome "Sultanahmet Square or Horse Square"

The known history of Sultanahmet Square, which is one of the first and most crowded places in Istanbul dates back to the Romans. This square, which was used as a hippodrome during the Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire, continued its importance until the 10th century as the meeting, entertainment, excitement and sports center of the city, as it is today. In addition to chariot races, bands of musicians, belly dancers, acrobats, fights with wild animals were always held here. The Imperial Palace, known as the "Great Palace", started near the Hippodrome and stretched down to the seaside. Only one floor mosaic panel of the great hall has survived from this palace.

Obelisk "Theodosius Column"

The granite Obelisk in the middle of the Hippodrome dates back to BC. In 1450, Pharaoh III. It was built in memory of Thutmosis and was erected across the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. It was brought to Istanbul in 390 by the order of Emperor Theodosius. Obelisk; It was rising on a marble base with reliefs of the emperor and the people around him. The reliefs on the pedestal are quite worn today as they are made of marble, but since granite is a very durable stone, the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Obelisk are as legible as the first day. Over the centuries, the marble pedestal remained deep as the ground rose. If you ask why there is an Obelisk here; The tradition of placing obelisks in hippodromes dates back to BC, when Emperor Augustus had an obelisk placed in the Circus Maximus Square in Rome. It goes back to 10 years.

Walled Obelisk

The second obelisk, which has a coarser workmanship compared to the first, is located at the south end of the Hippodrome. Although little is known about it, it is thought to have been erected by Constantine or Theodosius I. VII. It was covered with bronze by Constantine Porphyryogenitus (913-59), but IV. During the Crusade, when it was thought to be gold, it was dismantled and looted by the soldiers.

Serpent Column "Burme Column"

The column, in which the heads of three entwined snakes form the three legs of a golden vase, dates back to BC. It was built to commemorate the war in which the Greek city-states united and defeated the Persians in 478 and was erected in front of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. The column on which the names of the 31 victorious city-states are engraved is said to have been made by melting the shields of the defeated Persians. Emperor Constantine, who brought the column to Istanbul in the 330s, had the column erected in the garden of Hagia Sophia. The column was later brought to the Hippodrome and served as a fountain. The snakeheads are thought to have remained in place until the 1700s, but were smashed by a drunken Polish diplomat (or one of those playing the javelin). Today, only a fragment of one of the heads remains in the Istanbul Archeology Museum. The column was written by Jason Goodwin and was written by XIX. He plays the leading role in the detective novel "Snake Column", set in the 19th century.

German or Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain

At the entrance of the Hippodrome, on the side of Hagia Sophia, there is a green domed fountain designed by Mark Spitta. The work was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm in memory of his visit in 1898 to Sultan II. It was given to Abdulhamid as a gift. Inside the dome are mosaic monograms of the two leaders. In the place of the fountain, there was a tree that used to be called the Vakvak Tree (the name given to a tree in hell whose fruits are in the shape of a human skull) and where in 1826 rebel janissaries were hanged.

Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque

The Blue Mosque, which left its mark on the silhouette of Istanbul with all its splendor and stands with its graceful minarets and like a dervish with its hands raised to the sky, was built by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I on the Historical Peninsula by Architect Sedefkar Mehmet Aga between 1609 and 1616. The mosque, which is called the Blue Mosque by the Europeans because it is decorated with blue, green and white colored Iznik tiles and the interior of its half domes and large dome is also decorated with blue-weighted hand-drawn works, became the main mosque of Istanbul after Hagia Sophia was converted into a museum in 1934. reached its position. Another feature of the Blue Mosque is that it is one of the four mosques in Turkey with six minarets.

Hagia Sophia

When we move to the lower part of the square, Hagia Sophia, standing in front of us with all its majesty, welcomes us. Standing upright for centuries, this temple is the largest church built by the Eastern Roman Empire in Istanbul, and was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I between AD 532-537 and was built three times in the same place. This building, which has stood for 15 centuries, is among the masterpieces of art history and architecture. Hagia Sophia, the most important symbol of Byzantine architecture with its large dome, is the oldest cathedral in the world.

Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace is the residence of the Ottoman Sultans, the administrative and educational center of the state. Istanbul conqueror Sultan II. The Ottoman sultans and the people of the Palace lived in the palace, which was built by Mehmed between 1460-1478 and some additions were made over time, until the middle of the 19th century. After the Ottoman monarchy was abolished in 1922, Topkapi Palace was turned into a museum on April 3, 1924, by the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and first big shopping malls in the world and one of the unique structures that must be seen in Istanbul. Located in the center of the city, the bazaar resembles a labyrinth of gigantic dimensions. The bazaar, located between Nuruosmaniye, Mercan and Beyazit, is a magnificent structure with 64 streets and streets, two covered bazaars, 16 inns, 22 gates and 3,600 shops. The foundation year of the bazaar was accepted as 1461. However, the real big bazaar was built in wood by Suleiman the Magnificent. During the imperial period, it was known as "Carsu-i Kebir", that is, "Great Bazaar".

Istanbul Tour Inclusions

Good to Know Before You Go

The Rooftop Terrace Restaurant Where Our Guests have lunch

10 Unknown Facts About Topkapi Palace

12 Interesting Facts About Hagia Sophia