• Hagia Sophia Mosque - Pick up from the hotel and join the group at the meeting point. The tour begins with a visit to the Hagia Sophia Museum, which was originally a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Built in AD 537 before the Middle Ages, it was renowned for its massive dome. It was the world’s largest building and an engineering marvel of its time. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have “changed the history of architecture.” The Hagia Sophia Museum is considered one of the Eight Wonders of the World.

On Mondays, when Saint Sophia is closed, we visit the Chora Church, famed for its mosaics.

• Blue Mosque - Our next stop will be the Blue Mosque. It remains a functioning mosque while also attracting large numbers of tourists. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah, and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist site.

Note: On Friday morning, the Blue Mosque is viewed only from the outside because of Friday Prayer.

• Hippodrome - We continue to the Hippodrome Square, the sporting and social center of old Byzantium, which held 100,000 spectators and featured objects from all corners of the empire, such as the Egyptian Obelisk and the Serpent Column.

• German Fountain - The German Fountain is a gazebo-styled fountain at the northern end of the old hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square) in Istanbul, Turkey, across from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II’s visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled at its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain’s octagonal dome has eight marble columns, and the dome’s interior is covered with golden mosaics.

• Serpent Column - The Serpent Column, also known as the Serpentine Column, Plataean Tripod, or Delphi Tripod, is an ancient bronze column at the Hippodrome of Constantinople in what is now Istanbul, Turkey. It is part of an ancient Greek sacrificial tripod, originally in Delphi and relocated to Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324. It was built to commemorate the Greeks who fought and defeated the Persian Empire at the Battle of Plataea. The serpent heads of the 8-meter (26 ft) high column remained intact until the end of the 17th century.

• Grand Bazaar - Brief Handicrafts Presentation & Lecture (Optional Attendance) next to the Grand Bazaar. Free time to explore the Grand Bazaar on your own. Meeting back and drive to lunch.

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world’s most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls in the world.

Note: The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. On Sundays, we visit Nuruosmaniye Street around the Grand Bazaar since the Grand Bazaar is closed.

• Sultanahmet District - Lunch
  (Restaurant Changeable) Olive Oil Marinated Seasonal Vegetables, Traditional Fried Pastry Roll with Cheese “Sigara Beurreck”, Seasonal Garden Greens Salad, Traditional Grilled Meatballs “Kofte” served with rice and boiled Seasonal Vegetables or Chicken Grill, Seasonal Fresh Fruit Platter
  (Vegetarian menu is also available)
  (Drinks are not included)

• Topkapi Palace - Then we visit the Topkapı Palace, the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries, housing an exquisite collection of precious gems, jewelry, thrones of sultans, robes worn by the sultans and their families, miniatures, and the Holy Mantle; Chamber of Sacred Relics.
  (Harem is not included in the program and visit is due to an extra entrance fee.)
  Drop off to the hotels at the end of the tour.

• Hagia Irene Museum - Hagia Eirene, the Church of the Holy Peace, is one of the few churches in Istanbul that was never converted into a mosque, as it was used as an arsenal until the 19th century. Hagia Eirene reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple and has the distinction of being the first church built in Byzantium as it was converted into the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

• Gulhane Park - Our final visit will be Gülhane Park, once a part of the outer gardens of Topkapı Palace, where the Edict of Gülhane, a declaration of rights and liberties that played an essential role in the modernization of the Ottoman Empire, was proclaimed. After the proclamation of the Republic, Gülhane Park was for many years home to the Istanbul Zoo.

• Cruise Port pickup and drop-off
• Lunch included
• Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
• Entrance tickets to all attractions
• All fees and taxes covered
• Expert guidance from a professional guide
• Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off

• Drinks