Private Istanbul Old City Tour

Your guide will meet you at the arrival’s gate of Istanbul port with a sign your name is written on it , Then You will start to tour with a professional local tour guide who is licienced by the tourism ministry. First stop will be Byzantine Hippodrome where once chariots ran and thousands of Byzantines cheered them. Furthermore You will have a chance to see Egyptian Obelisk which is dating back to 16th century BC. Serpentine Colums dated back 5th century BC. And Stone Obelisk erected in 10th century AD.

After Byzantine Hippodrome you will visit the blue mosque right next to the hippodrome. The Blue Mosque whish was built in the 17th century and famous for its six minarets and beautiful Iznik tiles as interior decoration. It’s still in use and is the one of the biggest mosque in Turkey.

Afterwards you will be visiting Hagia Sophia Church, it was a piece of glory of the byzantine empire , built in the 6th century and houses magnificent gold-leafed mosaics. The Church was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in the 15th century and than was converted into a museum by Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK after the Republic.

After a lunch break, You will visit Topkapi Palace, once the residence of the Ottoman Sultans located on a hilltop dominating the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Today, it’s used as a museum where precious displays such Sultan’s costumes and Treasury can be visited. At the end visit to world famous Grand Bazaar for your shopping of traditional goods. Transfer back to your hotel at the end of the day.