Istanbul in Style

After breakfast, start your day with some sightseeing in the old city, formerly Constantinople, and the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire. Here you can visit the Hagia Sophia basilica, built during the reign of Emperor Theodosius and burned down in the fire of Nika Revolt in 532 A.D. during the reign of Justinian. Continue on to the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet under the orders of Sultan Ahmet I, better known as the Blue Mosque. Follow on to the ancient Hippodrome, the scene of many chariot races and the center of Byzantine civic life during the Roman era. Of the ornaments which once decorated it, only three remain The Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. Before lunch pay a visit to Istanbul’s bustling Grand Bazaar, exploring a labyrinth of streets and passages housing more than 4,000 shops. After lunch, proceed to Topkapi Palace, the maze of opulent buildings that was the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. Finally, we will visit Basilica Underground Cistern from the 5^th Century which was used as water storage during the Byzantium period. End of the tour. Return to the hotel overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from the hotel. your guide will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the harbor in Eminönü by tram for embarkation on the cruise. We will start to cruise along the Bosphorus on one of the iconic ferries of Istanbul where you will navigable the strait between Europe and Asia connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. We will disembark the cruise on the Asian Side of Istanbul Kadıköy Area. We will visit the local fish market of Kadıköy. Enjoy the traditional Turkish street food, see the local life, and stop in the bookshops and antique stores. Then we will continue to the Kuzguncuk Area where you will get a bit of local touch by visiting the little streets which host a mosque, church, and a synagogue as the peace of all religions. After lunch, we head back to Europe by the underground metro Marmaray under the Bosphorus to visit Spice Bazaar which is the end of the ancient Silk Road where you can find a variety of local & international spices, Turkish delights, homemade food, and souvenir shops. We will also visit the Rustem Pasha Mosque, famous for its exquisite Iznik tiles, set in beautiful floral and geometric designs, which cover not only the facade of the porch but also the mihrab, minbar, walls, and columns. End of the tour we will return to the hotel for overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, depending on your choices we will arrange your reservations, tickets, and transport for the events in Istanbul. We recommend https://www.istanbulmodern.org/en https://sakipsabancimuzesi.org/en or https://rmk-museum.org.tr/istanbul/en for art lovers by providing special entrance tickets and reservations for exclusive exhibitions. Also for sports fans https://www.fenerbahce.org/home, https://www.galatasaray.org/en/Homepage, https://www.fenerbahce.org/home, https://spor.istanbul/  are great sports arenas for European Champions League, UEFA League, Basketball Euro League, international and national sport events for where we arrange all the tickets and transport for the games. You can visit Nişantaşı where you can find luxury brands, Grand Bazaar of Istanbul for traditional stuff, or modern shopping malls such as Istinye Park or Cevahir for shopping before you leave Istanbul.  Alternatively, we recommend the experience of the traditional historical Turkish Bath from the 15^th Century Ottoman period to relax in Hürem Sultan Hamamı https://www.hurremsultanhamami.com/en/ with different Hamam packages. And Hodja Pasha Culture Center https://www.hodjapasha.com/en/ in the old city is a great spot to see the Derwish Gallery which was attributed to Mevlana, the great Turkish & founding mystic of the famous convent of ‘whirling dervishes’. Then you can join to the Whirling Dervish Ceremony in Mevlevihane for 1 hour. The sema ceremony is one of the most important heritages of Turkish Culture as a tradition of 800 years old. This unique traditional ritual had been proclaimed as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005. Also, you can choose a concert event from Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall https://crrkonsersalonu.ibb.istanbul/Home/Events?CRRLang=en-US in the heath of Istanbul and we can provide the tickets & transfers for you. Of course, we didn’t forget the party lovers https://sortie.com.tr/ , https://www.360istanbul.com/ , https://oligarkistanbul.com/ or https://rubyistanbul.com/ are great restaurants &clubs with beautiful views of Istanbul. End of the day Return to the hotel for an overnight in Istanbul.

Depending on your flight time, check out (12:00) from the hotel & remainder of the day will be at leisure till your transfer to Istanbul Ataturk Airport for your homebound flight.