Wonderful day in Istanbul. - Had a wonderful half day with Emre Aldeniz touring old Istanbul. Walked thru the Blue Mosque, train station stop from The Orient Express, walked the palace gardens. Emre’s knowledge was immeasurable. Emre’s kindness and ease of traveling this city also added to our experience. We ended our morning with a coffee at a beautiful hotel Han 1772 perfect ending to a terrific day. Tour met us at the airport and dropped us back off after a 5 hour tour.

Great Tour ! - This tour was great! Our tour guide was super accommodating and he had so much good information ! His name was Emre Aldeniz and I wouek definitely request him if possible ! We hope to come back to Istanbul and do another tour with him. He even gave us the best recs for other things to do in the city.

Best tour of the City - Great tour! Covered all of the highlights with important historical context. Emre Aldeniz is an incredible tour guide. He is patient (especially with fat old men like me), knowledgeable and very professional.

Highly Recommended - If you’re Westerners like us, you need a guide in Istanbul, and not just to explain the unfamiliar aspects of Turkish and Moslem culture. With a guide you can skip the long lines to buy tickets at the most popular attractions. If you want to see any attractions further than walking distance from your hotel, you need a guide to help you get there; Istanbul taxi drivers are not the easiest people to deal with. As our guide we hired Emine Filiz of Travel Elefante. We were more than satisfied. Emine was personable, knowledgeable, and well-organized, and she spoke fluent English. Rather than impose on us a one-size-fits-all standard itinerary, she listened to us and molded our tour to fit our interests and tastes. We actually hired Emine for three full days. That way we were able to visit off-the-beaten-path attractions like the Chora Church and Suleymaniye Mosque. If you have the time and money, we recommend this approach.

Handled last minute booking with no problem! - We booked our Old Istanbul tour extremely last-minute, when another tour fell through. Emile, the tour operator went above and beyond to accommodate us. She was incredibly kind and dedicated to ensuring we had the best experience possible. Despite the last-minute call, Emile promptly arranged for a great guide who was perfect for our group. Highly recommend this tour operator for anyone visiting Istanbul!

Halfday Istanbul tour is a winner. - Our guide Nur was excellent and knowledgeable. Our friend has difficulty walking so Nur arranged a motorized wheelchair rental, very reasonable, that enabled her to enjoy the tour. She also made sure we saw everything and helped us appreciate the history and culture of Turkey, spending extra time with us to find something we wanted to buy. I like the feature that allows us to communicate directly with the tour agency. They contacted us to work out some details like best time and where to meet and advanced ticket purchases. They were attentive to our needs.

Grandma's Dream Come True - My sister and I traveled with our 91yr old grandmother because seeing the Hagia Sophia was her lifelong dream. We booked the private half day tour and it was absolutely perfect, communication with the company was easy and timely. Emre, our guide was knowledgeable, friendly and kind. He picked us up near our airbnb and we took the tram to Sultanahmet. When we got to the Hagia Sophia, there was an extremely long line which would have been hours long (and we were prepared for Grandma to sit at benches along the way), and somehow, Emre ran into another guide friend who was able to get us - which was really incredible. Grandma's favorite mantra is - I'm lucky! And she certainly is. We barely had to wait. It was an incredible experience for Grandma, her dream come true. From there, we headed to the Blue Mosque and as we got on the long line, we weren't sure if we would make it before closing for prayers. Emre took Grandma to the entrance so that she could sit down while we were on line. At some point, we decided that at least Grandma could go in and my sister and I could return later on. Emre went ahead and took Grandma in since she was already near the entrance. My sister and I were still on line when they were done. We decided that since Grandma walked slow, that Emre and Grandma should make their way to the Basilica Cistern while we would hopefully still get into the Blue Mosque. As we got closer towards the entrance, we realized that we wouldn't get in and we decided to return later. We then went to meet Emre and Grandma at the Cistern but that also unfortunately just closed due to unforseen circumstances. So that meant off to the Grand Bazaar instead for shopping and negotiations :D Emre navigated us to and through the Grand Bazaar according to what we were interested in, pointing out good shops along the way. Grandma and my sister both ended up with some beautiful antique jewelry. Walking with Grandma was slow, but she enjoyed the streets and the bustle and the people. After our time with Emre ended, we decided to go to the Peinsula for afternoon tea since it was my birthday and then we dropped Grandma off to rest at the airbnb while we headed back to the Blue Mosque. My sister and I returned closer to closing time as Emre had suggested, there would be less of a line because all the cruise ship groups were gone by then - and there was barely a line and the Blue Mosque is absolutely stunning. Well worth the easy trip back on the tram! We had an absolutely wonderful time on our half day tour, truly! Thank you Emre for all the history and knowledge you shared and especially thank you for taking such good care of Grandma!

Great experience condensed within a half day by a great tour guide - Istanbul is a magnificent city that has to be experienced, and to make sense of its historical significance one needs to understand the contexts of all the buildings and monuments that came into being over the centuries. Emre Aldeniz is the perfect guide who not only knows his way around but is capable of putting the Sultan Ahmet Camii popularly known as the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar within the context of history that goes back to the Roman times. We began the tour at the Obelisk of Theodosius that was first erected in Egypt around 1500 BC and relocated by the Roman Emperor Theodosius to Constantinople - the present-day Istanbul - in the 5th century AD. Thanks Emre for making history come to life!

Half day tour was short but a lot of history given in this time - Will work with you based on crowds and what you would like to see. Great time for a short tour. A lot of history to absorb in a short tour.

Great history lesson - Bazaar with many colorful products and turkish salesmen. Topkapi Palace with its unique treasury and nice internal garden.