The Istanbul most visitors walk straight past. Working neighbourhoods, small mosques, hidden courtyards and a buryan lunch that is worth the walk on its own.
Tour highlights
The 16th century Şehzade Mosque, built by Sinan for a prince who died at twenty
The Valens Aqueduct, 1,600 years old, still standing over the traffic it never imagined
Vefa Bozacısı, where boza has been made and poured in the same room for over a century
A glass of boza, and what your guide will tell you it is good for
The Pantokrator church, built in 1119 by a Hungarian princess and later a mosque
Kadınlar Pazarı, the market where eastern and southeastern Turkey shops in Istanbul
Buryan lunch: lamb lowered into a pit oven and baked for five to six hours
This walk starts at the German Fountain in Sultanahmet and then leaves the tourist city behind on the tram. First the Şehzade Mosque, built by Sinan for a prince who died at twenty, and usually empty. Five minutes further on, the Valens Aqueduct, 1,600 years old, carrying nothing now but still standing over the traffic.
There is a stop at Vefa Bozacısı, where boza has been poured in the same room for a century, and your guide will tell you what it is supposed to cure. Then the Pantokrator church, raised in 1119 by a Hungarian princess and later turned into a mosque.
Lunch is at Kadınlar Pazarı in Fatih, the market where eastern and southeastern Turkey does its shopping in Istanbul. Buryan is lamb lowered into a pit oven and baked for five or six hours, and your guide orders for the table. Vegetarian food is available. Three hours, a tram back to Sultanahmet at the end, and you pay for lunch on the day.
The plan
We start where the tour buses do not go.
Craftsmen, small mosques, courtyards and the layers of the city that are still in use.
Slow cooked lamb from a pit oven, a southeastern dish Istanbul adopted and made its own.
The corners with the better stories, told properly.
The order can change with the weather, the traffic and how busy a site is on the day. Your guide will tell you.
Where we meet
The German Fountain, Alman Çeşmesi in Turkish.
Binbirdirek, Atmeydanı Cd., 34122 Fatih, İstanbul.
The tour finishes in the old city near the Blue Mosque.
Before you book
Worth two minutes before you book, so nothing on the day is a surprise.
Cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the start time and you are refunded in full. Inside 24 hours we cannot refund. Tell us as early as you can and we will move your date rather than lose you.
Tours run in rain and in heat. If conditions make a tour unsafe we cancel it ourselves and refund you in full, or move you to another date, whichever you prefer.
Scheduled group tours need a minimum of three people to run. If the number is not met we offer you another date or a full refund, and we tell you at least 24 hours before.
Hidden gems of Istanbul Salih was very knowledgeable and even though the weather was atrocious, it was snowing and raining, he took us to the hidden gems of Istanbul and kept us engaged and warm. We really recommend him!
Be surprised Firstly my guide Salih Batkin was really a great, calm, knowledgable, friendly person. Easy to talk to and answer questions. We went to off the beaten track mosques, neighbourhoods and past authentic butcher shops and restaurants. Tasted 2 authentic brewed drinks you don't see in the main area. I think this is a really good tour to see Istanbul life in the suburb. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A glimpse of the non touristy Istanbul We travelled by tram toward the university district, and started our tour of non touristy parts of Istanbul to see some lesser known but equally historically important mosques, a Women's market, the aqueducts, a small significant shop to try some boza and ended at a magnificent viewpoint. Denker was a knowledgeable and engaging guide. Great to get out of the hub-bub to where people who aren't servicing tourists live and work.
Been with us
Wherever you prefer. A review is worth more to the next person than anything we can write about ourselves.
You might also like
A full morning of eating across two continents, starting with a proper Turkish breakfast and finishing with künefe and Turkish coffee.
Istanbul at its best hour. A ferry across the Bosphorus as the light goes, then the Asian side eating and drinking its…
The four sights everyone comes for, in the right order, at the right time of day, with a licensed guide who gets…
