Highlights of historical Istanbul tour

The highlights of this impressive city in one day private tour! We will pick you up from your hotel at around 09:00 and your day begins with a visit to the amazing Topkapi Palace – home to the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years. Today, the palace houses amazing artifacts from the Ottoman period as well as many religious pieces and the famous Harem. On to the Roman Hippodrome – this Byzantine scene was home to Constantinople's sporting and political life. Today we can see many monuments including a 3500 year old Egyptian Obelisk. Our next destination is a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we continue with our walking tour by visiting the famous Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) museum – this architectural wonder was built in 360 A.D. and was used as a house of worship by different religions until finally being converted to a museum in 1935. The next stop is the Sultanahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque – built in the 16th century, this working mosque gets its name from the intricate blue Iznik tiles which adorn the inside. Next we will visit the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. We continue to The Grand Bazaar – the ultimate Old World shopping center with 4000 shops. The tour will end in the Grand Bazaar around 17:00