Number of days: 1
Departs from: Istanbul
Tour departures: All year round
Tour ends: Istanbul
Day 1: Istanbul
Meet at Istanbul port and start our tour with visit Hippodrome: The building, open square was once the site of a Roman circus that rivaled the Colosseum and could seat a quarter of a million spectators. Monuments on the site include the Snake Column from Delphi and an Egyptian obelisk taken from the Temple of Karnak at Luxor.Blue Mosque: One of the most famous mosque, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (also known as the Blue Mosque) is a superb creation in the classical Ottoman style. The mosque has six minarets and 260 windows illuminating its vast main chamber, which is decorated with more than 20,000 Iznik tiles.Hagia (St.) Sophia Museum: It is one of the greatest marvels of architecture, constructed as a basilica in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. Built in 537 by Byzantine Emperor Justinianus, St.Sophia has been the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years; it is considered the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture; after having been the Patriarchal basilica of Constantinople, it was converted into a mosque in 1453 by Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror and in to a museum by Ataturk in 1935. (Closed on Mondays; will be replaced with Underground Cistern)Grand Bazaar: The largest covered market in the world with more than 60 streets and 4.000 shops, where you may find in a authentic oriental atmosphere all kind of gifts, leather clothing, rugs and kilims, antiques, jewelery, hand-woven fabrics etc.It has got very different atmosphere.It is closed on Sundays and religious holidays.
