Classical Tour

*This schedule assumes you have one full day in İstanbul.

1. At approximately 9AM your guide will meet you at your hotel and begin the tour immediately, discussing the city while leading you to what was once Constantinople.

2. Your first stop is Süleymaniye mosque. Here your guide will explain the items inside of a mosque, what the calls to prayer are saying, and give you an opportunity for wonderful pictures from this, one of the seven hills in İstanbul.

3. Next we head to the Hagia Sophia, as your guide discusses multiple monuments and relics along the way. Your entry into the Hagia Sophia is included. Here you will enter the upper chambers of the converted church, now mosque, and see several mosaics and frescoes, some more than 1300 years old.

4. Following the Hagia Sophia we will enter the Basilica Cistern (also included), one of many ancient cisterns throughout İstanbul that provided water for Constantinople.

5. A short walk across the street takes us to the Sultan Ahmet area where we have the Hippodrome and multiple ancient obelisks. Before Christianity was adopted, gladiator fights and other atrocities took place here, but later this place was home to chariot races.

6. After lunch (provided) we will visit the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Spice market for any shopping you might be interested in, and finally you will be led back to your hotel.

*Please note that there are several possibilities for add-ons/replacements during this tour such as visiting the beautiful and relaxing Princes İslands, the original Ottoman and modern palaces, many ancient churches that have been converted to mosques, but still contain some mosaics and frescoes, bike tours, food tours, as well as Bosphorus boat tours and many other options.