Istanbul Customized Daily Tour

it is one of the most important monument both for Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum at the Turkish Republic, it has always been the precious of its time. The mystical city Istanbul hosted many civilizations since centuries, of which Byzantium and Ottoman Empires were both the most famous ones. The city today carries the characteristics of these two different cultures and surely Hagia Sophia is a perfect synthesis where one can observe both Ottoman and Byzantium effects under one great dome.

Topkapı Palace, established on an area of 700,000 square meters on the Eastern Roman acropolis in Sarayburnu, was the administrative, educational and artistic center of the ottoman empire for approximately four hundred years from Fatih Sultan Mehmet to the 31st Sultan Abdülmecid, as well as housing the ottoman dynasty. Although Topkapı Palace was gradually abandoned by the mid-19th century when the dynasty slowly moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, it preserved its historical importance and value.Harem section,treasury room,divan,holy relics will be visited.

Visit to Blue Mosque, Also known as the Sultan Ahmet Camii (or Sultan Ahmed Mosque), this breat-taking building was built between 1609 and 1616, by the architect Mehmet Ağa, It was designed as an imperial show of strength to complement the imposing Hagia Sophia, which faces it across Sultanahmet Square. Unlike the Hagia Sophia, however it is supported by four 'elephant foot' pillars, and the central dome (23.5m in diameter and 43m high) is flanked by four semi-domes, making it nearly a square in shape. It is dubbed the Blue Mosque because of over 20,000 handmade ceramic Iznik tiles that decorate the interior, featuring many different tulip, rose, carnation, and lily designs, well lit by 260 windows.

Hippodrome of Constantinople was a public arena mainly for chariot races. The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (horse) and dromos (way). The Hippodrome of Constantinople was also home to gladiatorial games, official ceremonies, celebrations, protests, torture to the convicts and so on. Hippodrome functioned all in Roman (203-330 CE), Byzantine (330-1453 CE) periods.The capacity of the hippodrome was approximately 40,000 and it was free and open to male members of the community. At least eight different games could be held throughout the day and it was also used as a symbol of power for the empire. The hippodrome was decorated with monuments that were brought in from across the empire including the Serpent Column from Delphi and Obelisk of Thutmosis III (Obelisk of Theodosius) from Egypt. With these landmarks and monuments brought from all around the world- the Byzantine Empire was proudly showing its strength and thousands of kilometers long territory ruled by them.

Gand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered bazaars in the world, the Grand Bazaar is 30,700 square meters with over 60 streets and alleys and 4,000 shops. Sultan Mehmet II built the market soon after conquering Constantinople as the trading center of the Ottoman Empire. The bazaar was opened in 1461.The traditional leather stores, spice and pottery shops, carpet, antique, and jewelry dealers are typical of the bazaar. Free time to enjoy shopping.