8:10 – 8:45 Departure from your hotel. Today we will visit the Saint Sophia (Haghia Sofia) which was built by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century A.D and stands over much older remains of a church. See beautiful mosaics of biblical scenes and the Byzantine emperors and empresses. We continue to the Blue Mosque, which was built in the 17th century and is the only imperial mosque with 6 minarets. We continue to the Hippodrome, a stadium and meeting place in Byzantine times, the Serpent Pillar from Delphi and the Egyptian Obelisk, with the Fountain of Wilhelm. We will also visit the

Saint Sophia

Caferaga Medresesi which was a school designed by the famous architect Sinan in 1560 and is now used for workshops in traditional Ottoman arts. We will have lunch and continue with the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum originally built as the Palace of Ibrahim Pasha in 1524 with fine examples of Islamic Calligraphy, tiles and carpets. Then we will explore the Topkapi Palace. It was the home of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th-19th century A.D. We see the Imperial Treasury with the famous Spoonmaker Diamond. Also the Baghdad Kiosk, the Armory with its collection of Ottoman weapons and a fine collection of ceramics. (Harem section is optional and due an extra entry fee). The tour ends in the Grand Bazaar, which has over 4000 shops full of treasures Return to your hotel around 17:30.
*Note that on Sunday the Grand Bazaar is closed, on Monday the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum and St Sophia are closed and on Tuesday the Topkapi Palace is closed (All sights except for Grand Bazaar are replaced by a visit to the Yerebatan Underground Cistern)

PRICE: 70 EURO PER PERSON – LUNCH INCLUDED