Istanbul Trip Overview
Bosphorus Cruise, Cable Car to Pierre Loti Cafe, Rustem Pasa Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Marmaray (Two Continents Subway).
Additional Info
Duration: 7 to 8 hours
Starts: Istanbul, Turkey
Trip Category: Tours & Sightseeing >> City Tours
Explore Istanbul Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Istanbul, Turkey, Turkey
Bosphorus Cruise, Cable Car to Pierre Loti Cafe, Rustem Pasa Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Marmaray (Two Continents Subway).
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
This mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I between 1609 and 1616 and is located in the district of old Istanbul that is named after this Ottoman Sultan and it is distinguished by its six slender minarets. The central dome is 43 m in height and 33.4 m in diameter and there are 260 stained glass windows throughout the mosque. Due to the intricately decorated blue, green and red tiles of its interior, it has long been referred to as the Blue Mosque. These tiles, produced and painted by hand in Iznik (ancient Nicaea), are an attraction in and of themselves. The Quranic inscriptions that you will see throughout the mosque were made by Seyyid Kasım Gubari, one of the most famous calligraphers of his time.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
The Hagia Sophia that you can visit today was the primary church of Byzantine Constantinople. The Hagia Sophia was the most important church of the Christian East. Structurally, it was the first of its design and boasted the largest dome that had yet been engineered which provided a voluminous and well illuminated interior. After Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque and was used as such throughout the Ottoman period. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the modern Turkish Republic’s most revered founding father and its first Prime Minister, initiated the process to have the Hagia Sophia transformed into a museum which opened for visitors in February 1935. Finanly converted in the Mosque in 2020.
Duration: 1 hour 25 minutes
Stop At: Hippodrome, Binbirdirek, Sultan Ahmet ParkI No:2, Istanbul Turkey
The ancient Hippodrome was the center of Byzantine social life and the scene of fiercely competitive chariot races. It was located in the square that is now in front of the Blue Mosque and is still the site of ancient relics from its glory days. These are the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. Remains of the curved end of the Hippodrome wall can be seen on the southwest side of the three monuments.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Rustem Pasha Mosque, 62 HasIrcIlar Carsisi Eminonu, Istanbul Turkey
This majestic and surprising little mosque was designed by the most famous of Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan, for the Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha who had married Princess Mihrimah, one of the daughters of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Its construction took place from 1561 to 1563. The mosque is famous for its exquisite tiles from Iznik that are set in beautiful floral and geometric arrangements and which cover not only the facade of the porch but also the mihrab, minbar, walls, and columns of the interior.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Basilica Cistern, Alemdar Mahallesi, Yerebatan Caddesi, No:1/3, Istanbul 34410 Turkey
Built by Justinian after 532, the Basilica Cistern stored water for the Great Palace and nearby buildings. Lost to memory, it was rediscovered in the mid sixteenth century by Petrus Gyllius, who had been sent to1_Underground Cistern Constantinople by the French King Francis I in search of Byzantine monuments and manuscripts.
Duration: 45 minutes
Pass By: Rumeli Fortress, Yahyakemal Cad. No.28, Istanbul 34470 Turkey
The largest fortification for the protection of Istanbul built by Sultan Mehmet II in 1451 before his conquest of the city. This garrison is well preserved and its towers and walls can be seen clearly as our boat passes by.
Stop At: Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
We will cruise on the Bosphorus to allow you the prime perspective from which to view the finebosphorus_tour_istanbul_1 palaces, pavilions, Ottoman houses and seaside neighborhoods along the shores of this famous and historic waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Maramara Sea.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Pierre Loti Tepesi, Idris Kosku Cad. Eyup, Istanbul 34050 Turkey
Enjoy the beautiful view from the cable car as you climb the hill to the cafe named for the famous French writer and naval officer, Louis Marie Julien Viaud a.k.a. Pierre Loti (1850 -1923), who wrote fiction based on his experiences in Istanbul.
Duration: 1 hour
