TURKEY – Turkey
7 DAYS 7 HILLS TOUR
TOUR 1 ISTANBUL CITY CLASIC TOUR
TOPKAPI PALACE: Across from St. Sophia built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet Aga, is known as the BLUE MOSQUE because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles.
SULTANAHMET IMPERIAL MOSQUE: 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
HIPPODROME: Ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races, with the three monuments; the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine
LUNCH and FREE TIME
HAGIA SOPHIA (ST. SOPHIA) : 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.
BASALICA CISTERN: is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, located 500 feet (150 m) southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian.
TOUR 2 ISTANBUL CITY CLASIC TOUR
DOLMABAHCE PALACE: Dolmabahçe Palace was home to six sultans from 1856,when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924.Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summer.
YILDIZ ROYAL GARDEN: Here it’s a nice oxygen break from the noise and rat-race of the city. Witness the beauty of Yıldız Royal Garden as reminder of the formidable Ottoman Empire.
MINIATURK: Opened in 2002 on the Golden Horn, the world’s largest miniature park contains 105 miniature models in 1/25th scale of well known Turkish historical sites in an open air expanse. Covering an area of 60,000m2, Miniaturk offers dwarfed versions of famous sights including Hagias Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Nemrut Dag, Artemis Temple and even a walk able Bosporus Bridge.
LUNCH and FREE TIME
AQUARIUM: Species of fish living in the seas of the world in which, compared to aquariums of its kind; sightseeing route, interactivity, and new generation technology, the world’s rain forest is the latest…
Dolmabahce (Bezm-I Alem Valide) Mosque is visited in the winter season instead of the Yıldız Royal Garden.
TOUR 3 ISTANBUL CITY CLASIC TOUR
HOLY LAND EYUP MOSQUE AND PIERRE LOTI HILL Pierre Loti Cafe is a lovely cafe among the green, located on a hill with beautiful trees, where you can enjoy the wonderful view of the Golden Horn. The café takes its name from a regular visitor from years ago, Pierre Loti, the French author who was very fond of Istanbul and wrote as he sat in this cafe while enjoying the view.
PANORAMA 1453 MUSEUM You Are Invited To The Conquest Of Istanbul… This is the place, where you will witness, how Mehmed II. Was titled “the Conqueror”.
LUNCH and FREE TIME
YENİ MOSQUE
THE GRAND BAZAAR-shopping
TOUR 4- HISTORICAL ISLAMIC TOUR
SULEYMANIYE MOUSQUE AND TOMB: It is the largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. The Süleymaniye Mosque was built on the order of Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent) “was fortunate to be able to draw on the talents of the architectural genius of Mimar Sinan” (481 Traditions and Encounters: Brief Global History). The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1558.
BEYAZIT MOSQUE AND SQUARE: The Beyazidiye Camii was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II, and was the second large imperial mosque complex to be erected in Istanbul after the Conquest.
LUNCH and FREE TIME
FATIH MOSQUE AND TOMB : The Fatih mosque complex was a religious and social building of unprecedented size and complexity built in Istanbul between 1463-1470 by the order of Fatih Sultan Mehmed, on the site of the former Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been a ruin since the Fourth.
RUSTEM PASHA MOSQUE : The Rüstem Pasha Mosque was designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for Grand Vizier Damat Rüstem Pasha (husband of one of the daughters of Suleiman the Magnificent, Princess Mihrimah). Rüstem Pasha died in July 1561 and the mosque was built after his death from around 1561 until 1563.
TOUR 5- HISTORICAL ISLAMIC TOUR
SHEIKH YAHYA EFENDI: Sheikh Yahya Efendi was a doctor, known as a brother of the Sultan Solomon Khan of lactation. This is most visited tomb between four tombs overlooking Bosporus.
BOSPHORUS CRUISE
MIHRIMAH SULTAN MOSQUE: is an Ottoman mosque located in the historic center of the Üsküdar municipality in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the first of two mosques built by Mihrimah Sultana, daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and wife of Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha. It was designed by Mimar Sinan and built between 1546 and 1548.
AYAZMA MOSQUE: The mosque is the Ayazma Mosque, built 1760 by Sultan Mustafa III and dedicated to his mother. It is in a baroque style, and has some great ornaments that I did not hesitate to take pictures of. Also, it has several “houses” on its walls, meant for pigeons.
LUNCH and FREE TIME
Aziz MAHMUT HÜDAİ is amongst the most famous sufi saints of Turkey, mystic, poet, composer author, statesman and Islamic scholar. He was the Sheikh of Sultan Ahmed I who constructed the famous Blue Mosque and especially gained the respect of Sultan Murat III. He read the first Friday prayer in this Mosque on its opening.
CAMLICA HILL is located in Üsküdar. This hill is one of the hills in Istanbul.Camlica Hill is 268 meters above sea level. On the hill, there are 18 radio and TV towers. There is one restaurant made by city hall and many cafes. Camlica hill is surrounded by trees.
TOUR 6- ISTANBUL CITY TOUR
TAKSIM SQUARE : Taksim Square in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul.
ISTIKLAL STREET : İstiklal Avenue is one of the most famous avenues in Istanbul, Turkey, visited by nearly 3 million people in a single day over the course of weekends. Located in the historic Beyoğlu district, it is an elegant pedestrian street, approximately three kilometers long, which houses exquisite boutiques, music stores, bookstores, art galleries, cinemas, theaters, libraries, cafés, pubs, night clubs with live music, historical patisseries, chocolateries and restaurants.
LUNCH
GALATA TOWER : The Galata Tower by the Genoese — is a medieval stone tower in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city’s most striking landmarks, it is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old Istanbul and its environs.
KARAKÖY : The modern name for the ancient Galata, is a commercial neighborhood in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus.
TOUR 7- PRINCES’ ISLAND TOUR
Cruise on the MARMARA SEA to PRINCES’ ISLANDS retreats for the Byzantine princes, famous for their beautiful pine woods and beaches. The largest and most enjoyable of these islands is Buyukada. There you can enjoy a ride in a horse drawn carriage among the pine trees after relaxing on the beaches in the numerous coves along its coast. Return in the evening to Istanbul and transfer back to hotel.