Full Day Istanbul Discovery Tour included Hagia Sophia

Tour Highlights:
Old Hippodrome of Constantinople
Imperial Mosque of Ottoman Empire
Famous Hagia Sophia Museum
Cruise on the Bosphorus
Matchless city view from the Bosphorus
Golden Horn & Pierre Loti Hill
Cable Car on Pierre Loti Hill
Hotel transfers & Included Lunch

One Full Day Istanbul Discovery Tour
Best of Istanbul Tour to History & Nature Beauty
08.30 – Collected you from the hotels and taken to the meeting point.
Once meeting with the participants and your Istanbul tour guide start to the one full day Istanbul discovery tour. In the morning part of the guided trip, we are going to visit Byzantine and Ottoman remains in the old city of Istanbul included Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia and walk to 4000 shops of historical Grand Covered Bazaar. Our lunch will be at the local restaurant and continue to the afternoon part of the tour. We will watch the city from Pierre Loti Hill, ride the Cable Car down the hill from the hill and continue on a boat cruise sightseeing on the uniquely Bosphorus in the world. While cruise sightseeing, watch Istanbul from Bosphorus strait, our professional tourist guide will give you historical information about the old pasha villas, palaces, and mansions. We are coming back to the same pier after the insatiable boat cruise between Asia and Europe continents.
17.00 – At the end of best of Istanbul city sightseeing tour, drive back to your hotel.

Brief Info about the sites in the day tour:
Hippodrome: The scene of ancient chariot races, the ancient Hippodrome, with its four monuments; the German Fountain of Wilhelm II, the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine.
Santa Sophia (Hagia Sophia): This ancient basilica, built by Constantine the Great, in the 4th century and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century, is one of the architectural marvels of all time.
Blue Mosque: Across from St. Sophia built in the 17th century by the architect Mehmet, this is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles.
Grand Covered Bazaar: In this labyrinth of streets and passages are more than 4,000 shops with each trade having its own area; the goldsmiths’ street, the carpet sellers, Turkish arts and crafts, such as handpainted ceramic plates, hand-honed copperware, brassware and trays, water ewers, onyx are and meerschaum pipers.
Golden Horn (from the bus): The arm of the Bosphorus and a natural harbor of the historical peninsula separating the old and the new parts of İstanbul where the first colonies settled during the Byzantine. The residential area for Byzantine Jews, Italian traders, and other non-Muslim minorities. Drive along the traces of history at Balat viewing Metal Church of St. Stephen the Bulgarian, 21 km. long City Walls(from the bus), the strongest fortification of the middle age.
Bosphorus Cruise by Boat: A traditional excursion by boat along the waterway separating Europe and Asia. The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. During the excursion, you will pass the magnificent Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavillions of Yildiz Palace. On the coastal edge of this park, is Ciragan Palace, 300 meters of is marble facade faces the shore. At Ortakoy a great variety of artists gathers every Sunday to display their work along the street. Ortakoy is a symbol of tolerance with a church, a mosque and a synagogue existing side by side for centuries.
Pierre Lotti Hill & Cable Car: It was named after the famous French writer, you will enjoy the magnificent scenery of Golden Horn and the city after you take a cable car drive for the hill.