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Historical Istanbul - Old City Tour

Visiting: Hagia Sophia Museum, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar
  • DESTINATION:Istanbul, Turkey
  • DURATION:Full Day | Including Lunch
  • DEPARTURE DATES:Daily | Year Round
  • THEME:Cultural | Historical
  • TRAVEL STYLE:Regular Group Tour
  • PICK-UP FROM:Sultanahmet | Taksim | Aksaray | Karakoy

Overview

Visit the top historical attractions of Istanbul with our one day walking tour. Explore UNESCO-listed Hagia Sophia Museum, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Hippodrome. Find out the Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and hear the story about extravagant sultans and their harems from your expert guide!

What to Expect?
Includes
Excludes
Additional Note/s

Our driver will meet you at your hotel lobby between 07:00 – 08:00 and drive you to the meeting point where you will meet the other participants of the Istanbul day tour. Following sites will be visited with an experienced and professional tour guide licensed by the ministry of tourism.

Byzantine Hippodrome

Idea for the hippodrome originally came from Emperor Septimius Severus in 203. He came to Byzantium to beat down a rebellion in a Roman civil war, after which he raised the city walls, slaughtered most of the inhabitants, and introduced an arena for chariot races and other entertainment. You will be able to see the Obelisk from Egypt, Serpentine Column from Delphi and fountain of Wilhelm II.

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque (called Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish) is a historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design.Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 years, during the rule of Ahmed I. One of the biggest mosques of Istanbul from 17th century architecture is one of the principal adornments on the skyline of Istanbul. Also famous for its blue tiles and 6 minarets.

Hagia Sophia Museum

Hagia Sophia, the biggest church constructed by the East Roman Empire in Istanbul, has been constructed three times in the same location. The Church of Holy Wisdom, undoubtedly one of the greatest architectural creations in the World used as a mosque during Ottomans and serving as a museum today.

Grand Bazaar

Oldest and the largest covered market place in the World with nearly 4.000 shops full of rich collections of carpets, jewellery, leather, and souvenirs.

Topkapi Palace

The great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries housing an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle; enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed
.
* Treasury and Harem sections in Topkapi Palace are not included in the itinerary and are due to extra entry.

Sultan Tombs

There are five tombs of Ottoman Sultans within the graveyard at St. Sophia. The ceramic panels are the most beautiful examples of the 16th century with purple, green, blue, and red flower motives. Prince robes and a small piece from the Kaaba covers are displayed on the sarcophaguses.

You will be transferred back to your hotel at the end of tour.

  • Hotel Pick-up and drop-off by air-conditioned non-smoking tour coach.
  • Professional English speaking guide assistance.
  • Museum tickets and entrance fees where necessary.
  • Lunch at local restaurant.
  • Services charges and local taxes.
  • Items of a personal nature.
  • Admission to Treasury and Harem sections in Topkapi Palace.
  • Gratuities to the guide and driver.
  • All kinds of beverages.
  • Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability.
  • Includes free pick-up service from hotels in Sultanahmet or Taksim area. There will be an extra charge for other locations.
  • Child aged 0-2 free of charge, %30 discount for child aged under 7 years old.
  • Children 18 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.
  • In the event of any museum closures, an alternative similar museum will be visited.
  • This tour is regular. Please contact us for private tour options.
  • E-visa information for Turkey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.1What is the minimum number of participants for group tour to be provided?

Four people is the minimum number of participants required for a group tour.

Q.2Do you also offer private tours?

Currently we offer private tours in many destinations and can arrange many of our tours as private tours. Please contact our Customer Care team to arrange a private tour if you are interested and do not see it listed on our website.

Q.3What's the difference between a 'group' and a 'private' tour?

A group tour is one where you join a group of other travelers and a single guide.
Because our groups are rather small, you’ll still find it easy to hear and interact with your guide and it’s more cost-effective than a private tour, which is when you pay to have your own personal tour guide (and/or transfer) just for you.

Q.4Do you offer hotel pick-up?

Yes, hotel pick-up and drop off are included for all our tours. A company representative will be meeting you at your hotel lobby at the time mentioned on your voucher. You’ll receive the pick-up information on your tour voucher.

Q.5What languages are your tours in?

All our regular group tours are in English only. We don’t do multi-language tours. Which means you’ll never have to wait while a tour guide speaks first in English, then in German, then in French. On private tours we can arrange any language.

Q.6Do you accept last-minute bookings?

When we have space! Check our website for availability first. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there is a chance that it’s sold out or it may just be off-sale because it’s within a day or two of tour running time. In that case we can often still take bookings over the phone, so give our team a call to find out. A minimum of 3 days is required to book any private tour.

Q.7How far in advance should I book my tour?

It’s hard to say and differs from one tour to another. In general, regular group tours can usually booked at least few days in advance. If you know what tour you want to book though, we would always suggest to book as soon as you can.

Q.8How do I make a change to my booking?

We’re more than happy to accommodate you on a different date, or at a different time as long as we have the availability. To make a change, please contact by email or by calling us at : +90 532 454 2 888. Contact information can be also found on your electronic voucher.
Please note that there might be situations when services cannot be amended. For example: theater tickets, rail trips, lunch and dinner products, overnight tours and attraction tickets might not be amended or cancelled once booked. Text on the tour voucher will indicate if the date and time cannot be changed once booked.

Q.9How do I cancel a tour?

It is important when cancelling a tour you provide your name, tour name and date of the tour you wish to cancel and mostly important to us is your booking reference number. Cancellation can be made via e-mail at [email protected]. Your booking will be cancelled and we will provide a cancellation number for your records. Credit card refunds will be made according to our cancellation policy.

Q.10What is your cancellation policy?

The majority of our regular day tours may be cancelled for a 70% refund when cancelled with at least 72-hours notice; withholding a 30% booking fee. All tours are non-refundable when cancelled within 24-hours of the tour’s departure time. Cancellations must be made in writing, by emailing to [email protected]

Q.11Is your website secure?

Our Internet site uses the SSL encryption protocol to guarantee secure transactions and complete confidentiality. Your bank details and all the information you enter on the various forms are automatically encrypted when your data is transferred over the network. The SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption system automatically encrypts your data before it is transmitted over the network, and it can only be decrypted using a unique key once it has arrived on our server.

Q.12What happens after I've made a booking through your website?

When concluding the tour booking through our website you are provided with a booking reference number and a link to print a version of the services booked. Also an e-mail is sent to your email address that you provided at the time of booking that will include your tour voucher and booking reference number as part of a confirmation message. If for any reason you do not receive these messages within 12-hours do not hesitate to contact us.

Q.13What happens if I lose the voucher?

Please contact us as soon as you realize you lost your voucher and a copy will be provided to your preferred email address.

Q.14Can I book more than one tour at a destination?

Yes! You can book as many tours and activities as you want, in any destination. Though we suggest that you carefully check the start and end times and consider the travel time if booking more than one tour on the same day. You will receive a separate confirmation and voucher for each tour.

Q.15How do I find out prices for multiple tour reservations and/or family special rates?

We apply different rates and discounts depending on traveller’s age, the tours chosen, number of participants, period of the year… etc., so being request of this type generally very different from each other we can not have a specific section on our site with different rates. For these reasons we kindly ask you to contact us before you reserve our tours via e-mail at [email protected].

Q.16It's raining, is my tour still running?

Yes! Our tours run rain or shine. On some very rare occasions, when the weather is particularly dramatic, some outdoor sites may be closed. On these occasions we will try to contact you in advance, where we have warning.

Q.17Please contact us for your further questions!

There is a good chance we’ve answered your question on our FAQ list, but if not, the best way to reach us for non-urgent matters us is by email at [email protected].
Our team will try to get back to you within 24 hours with a full response.
Depending on where you’re calling us from, you can get us on : +90 532 454 2 888

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