The four sights everyone comes for, in the right order, at the right time of day, with a licensed guide who gets you past the worst of the queues.
Tour highlights
Inside Hagia Sophia, 1,500 years old, a cathedral for nine centuries and a mosque for five
The Blue Mosque, its six minarets and the İznik tiles it is named after
The 6th century Basilica Cistern, the Roman reservoir under the old city
The Hippodrome: the German Fountain, the Serpent Column and the obelisk shipped from Egypt to the emperor Theodosius in the 4th century
The Nika riots of 532, and the thirty thousand who died in them, told where it happened
Turkish coffee in the courtyard of a 300 year old madrasa
The Grand Bazaar, and how bargaining there actually works
Skip the ticket line at Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern
Four sights, one morning, and a licensed guide who has walked the route for years. Hagia Sophia first, then the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, all within a few minutes of each other in Sultanahmet, finishing in the Grand Bazaar.
Tickets for Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern are held in advance, so you walk past those two queues. The Blue Mosque has no priority entrance for anybody, so allow 10 to 30 minutes there depending on how busy the day is. Halfway through there is a break for Turkish coffee in the courtyard of a 300 year old madrasa, which is also where the questions that have been building up get answered.
The order moves with the opening hours. On Fridays the mosque and Hagia Sophia close for morning prayers, so the Friday tour runs from 13:30 to 17:30. On Sundays the Grand Bazaar is shut and the walk finishes in the Spice Bazaar instead, which sells much the same things. Maximum twelve people. Lunch is not included, and your guide will point you at somewhere good.
The plan
Nine hundred years a cathedral, five hundred a mosque, and the reason the skyline looks the way it does.
Working mosque, so timings move around prayer. Dress cover is provided at the door.
The Byzantine water system under the city, columns, carp and the Medusa heads.
The obelisks and what is left of the chariot track that ran Constantinople.
Twenty minutes off your feet before the last stretch.
How the trade actually works, and how to tell a good carpet from a good story.
The order can change with the weather, the traffic and how busy a site is on the day. Your guide will tell you.
If you have booked for children aged 5 and below, bring their ID or passport to prove their age at the entrances.
Where we meet
The German Fountain, Alman Çeşmesi in Turkish.
Binbirdirek, Atmeydanı Cd., 34122 Fatih, İstanbul, on the old Hippodrome in Sultanahmet.
The tour finishes at the Grand Bazaar, or at the Spice Bazaar on Sundays.
When visiting mosques in Istanbul we kindly ask guests to dress respectfully, as these are active places of worship.
Both men and women should wear clothing that covers the shoulders and knees. Women are also required to cover their hair while inside the mosque, so bringing a lightweight scarf is recommended. At major mosques, scarves or suitable coverings may sometimes be available at the entrance.
Shoes must be removed before entering the prayer area. We recommend comfortable shoes that are easy to take on and off.
The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays.
On a tour running on a Sunday the Grand Bazaar is replaced with a visit to the Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar.
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.
Perfect afternoon tour in Istanbul, loved it Excellent half day tour of 4 of the major sites of Istanbul. My guide, Beyhan, was very friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating and fun. She explained everything about each stop in detail. The tour moved at just the right pace. We ended with stopping for coffee and tea at a local coffee house and then walking through the Grand Bazaar. Highly recommend.
Perfect tour, could not have been better Best tour guide ever. She, Karacebeyhan, was very profound concerning all historical items and she was a friendly and joyful person. Her English was very good, so we, as German tourists, could understand everything without problems. Thank you for the time being with us!
Historical tour with a local guide Omer from My Local Guide was extremely knowledgeable about all the locations visited on the tour. He has his masters in the Ottoman Empire and is a wealth of knowledge. The pace of the tour was appropriate for the hot day. He took us to the old section of the Grand Bazaar which has makers rather than just sellers, which I found very interesting.
Been with us
Wherever you prefer. A review is worth more to the next person than anything we can write about ourselves.
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