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A Full-Day Classical City Tour |
This tour includes the very basic highlights of the city, as
Hippodrome Square, The Blue Mosque, The Hagia Sophia Church, The Underground Cistern, a Lunch Break and
afterwards the imperial Topkapi Palace and finally the Grand Bazaar. The tour usually starts at 9 a.m and finishes at 4-5 p.m. Organized tours are accompanied by a professional tour guide and a van depending on the location of the hotel. The Underground Cistern may be replaced by the Suleiman's Mosque in some itineraries. If you have a limited time in Istanbul, this tour is definately for you. Local Guides in Hagia Sophia or Topkapi Palace are also available. Among the guidebooks, "The Blue Guide Istanbul" or "Strolling Through Istanbul" by John Freely is strongly recommended. These books give a general framework as well as practical information.Another tip is, this tour can be done by walking if you are not staying in a very far hotel. Even if your hotel is far from the historical sites, once you take a taxi and get to the historical sites, everywhere is at walking distance except for the Suleiman's Mosque.
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A Half Day Bosphorus Cruise |
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A Full-Day Byzantium Heritage Tour |
T
his tour is special for the guests who would like to know about the old Byzantium Heritage, churches, cisterns or aquaducts from the 3rd century up to the 13th century. This tour will include the Church of Sergius and Bacchus(Renamed as "Kucuk Ayasofya" in Turkish), the Hagia Eirene Church, the Pantocrator(Imrahor Mosque)Church, the Aquaduct of Valens, the Seven-Towers Citadel, The Chora Church, The Old City Walls and the Underground Cistern. This is a very history-intensive tour and very suitable for archeologists ,historians or guests who is specially interested in Byzantium History.|
A Full-Day Mosques Tour |
This tour will include the Ottoman-time mosques starting from the 16th century. The world-famous architect Sinan has constructed different mosques,aquaducts,cisterns,food houses for the poor in Ottoman Empire Era. The famous Blue Mosque is the first stop. This mosque is also constructed by a student of Architect Sinan; Sedefkar Mehmet Aga.
After Blue Mosque, a big complex; including a mosque and tombs of Suleiman the Magnificient and his wife;Hurrem sultan is going to be visited. This complex is called "Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificient". With the red carpets and notable acoustics, it's a really beautiful architectural piece. This mosque is another masterpiece of Architect Sinan.
After the Suleiman's Mosque, the beautiful Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is visited. This mosque was constructed with the order of Suleiman in the name of his beloved daughter; Mihrimah Sultan. It's small and cozy mosque, reflecting the typical style of Architect Sinan.
Another mosque complex to be visited is Eyup Sultan Mosque. Eyup Sultan is to be believed as a very religious person, so this mosque is visited by hundreds of muslim every year. People visit his tomb and pray there. Newly married couples, ill people who want to get recovered or newly circumsized boys are also visit his tomb.
The last mosque to be visited is the "Yeni(New in English) Mosque" next to the Spice Market. It's called "new" because unlike many 16th C mosques, this mosque was constructed in the 17th C. It's also called as "The Pigeons' Mosque" due to the pigeons around, fed by people. This mosque is not usually visited by tourist groups, therefore you may see many local Turks praying in the mosque.
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A Half-Day Golden Horn Tour |
This is a half-day tour which you may start at 9 a.m to 12 p.m and end up in a restaurant overlooking the Golden Horn for lunch or at 1 p.m to 3-4 p.m. If you have booked this tour, you are accompanied by a van and a tour guide. This tour requires a taxi or a car. There's a long road along the Golden Horn which is a small extention of the strait Bosphorus. The car takes you along the Golden Horn and on the way, you see
the
Iron Bulgarian Church, the Greek Patriarchate,
the Greek High School for boys, the Jewish Hospital and the Eyup Sultan Mosque
complex.
The car takes you along the
old city-walls from the 5th C and the tour finishes at a cozy cafe called
"Pierre Loti". Loti is a French who fell in love with a
Turkish girl, therefore with Istanbul and spent most of his time at that café. The Café is overlooking the Golden Horn and you may see the relections of the sun on the water. It's a great spot.
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A Full-Day "Prince's Islands" Tour |
This is a lovely tour on a sunny Istanbul Day. The tour starts at 9:45 a.m. If you have booked the tour, you are taken from your hotel to the ferry station by a van and tour guide. If you want to go on your own, the ferry leaves at 10:20 a.m from
Eminonu,Port ADALAR.
First you purchase your tickets and get on the ferry. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the islands. The largest and mostly populated island is called
"The Grand
Island"(BUYUKADA)".
You watch the names of the stations and leave the ferry at that station. There's no motor vehicle on the island, so you hire a horse cartridge and enjoy being on the island. If you hire a horse car, you ask for
"Kucuk Tur"(Kuchuk Tour)
meaning "Small tour". The car takes you around, you see beautiful, old houses,lovely gardens,roses and breathe the fresh air. At a hill, the driver stops to refresh the horses,so you can stop by a café and drink some refreshments.This tour takes about 1 hour,15 minutes, so after you finish the tour, you make the payment. If you like, you can hire
bikes and enjoy the island by bicyles. At the very top of the island, there's a lovely Church called
"Hagia Yorgi". There was a considerably big Greek population on the island and it was their church. This church is still in service.
If you like to have a great meal, you can walk down to the shore and find a cozy restaurant. Nice sea food and fresh fish as well as fresh salad is available in
those restaurants.
You can check the departure time from the island back to the city from the ticket office next to the restaurant area. Another ticket
must be purchased for your return.
A Half-Day
Asian Side Tour
This tour usually starts at 9 a.m but you can make it any time you like. This tour also requires a car. First of all, you cross the Bosphorus Bridge and pass to the Asian Continent. The first stop is called
"Uskudar".
This is a colorful spot, full of people. While you are driving along the coast, you can observe the European Side, The 5-star Ciragan Palace Hotel and the Dolmabahce Palace. On you right, you see a tower called
"The
Leander's Tower". This is a tower from the 12th C. According to the myth, when a Byzantium Emperor
found out that his daughter was seeing a boy whom he disliked, he had that tower constructed and put her in jail there. When the boy tried to swim in the dark and cold water of the Bosphorus to reach his love, he could not succeed and drowned...She was so upset that she committed to suicide...A sad story... After Uskudar, the car takes to the highest point of Istanbul:
The Camlica Hill.
There are many TV
and GSM Antennas on the hill and in the cafés, while you are sipping your
coffee, you can see a wonderful panoramic view of Istanbul. The last stop of the tour is
Beylerbeyi Palace.
This palace was constucted as a summer palace in 1870s. It is a mixture of French and Ottoman Architecture. The cooling system and the Czech Bohemian Crystal Chandellliers are worth seeing. It's just by the sea, nearly under the Bosphorus Bridge.
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Istanbul By Night - Dinner and Turkish Shows |
There are various dinner and night shows in the city.
The major two are Kervansaray Night Club and Orient House Night Club. One of these clubs are Kervansaray Night Club next to Hilton Hotel. The Alagoz Sisters and Brother perform a great show there together with belly dancers and folk groups.
The best quality of them in my opinion is The Orient House Night Club. The food , service and show is best among the others. In order to go these shows, it's recommended to contact a travel agency or find someone who can get a lower rate.
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