Day 1 – Arrival in Istanbul & Dinner Bosphorus Cruise Dinner Included
Welcome to Turkey! Arrive into Istanbul. Transfer from airport & check in to your hotel.
In the evening between 19:30 – 20:00 you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the boat for a Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus, with a drop-off back to the hotel at the end of the tour. During the tour you will be able to see historical places like Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy Mosque, Maiden’s Tower, Rumeli Fortress, Bosphorus Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Beylerbeyi Palace, etc.
After dinner you can dance the night away to entertaining music provided by a professional DJ and traditional show programs, or simply relax with a drink and enjoy the view. We combine a delicious meal with unparalleled views of Istanbul and live entertainment to create Istanbul’s leading Bosphorus Dinner Cruise. End of entertainment at about midnight 12:00 PM, followed by a transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.
Day 2 – Istanbul Old City Tour Breakfast Included
Morning: having breakfast in the hotel. Pick-up time for the tour is at 09:00 to enjoy a full-day tour in Istanbul. First stop will be Hagia Sophia: the 4th biggest church in the world. Construction dates to the 4th century and it was chosen as the 2nd best engineering structure of human history by the BBC.
Then we will visit the Blue Mosque: the best interior-designed mosque in Ottoman architecture with its 20,000 pieces of Iznik tiles, unique with its 6 minarets. Moving on to the Hippodrome: the center of Byzantine entertainment where 30,000 civilians were killed by order of the queen with arrow rain inside it during the Nika Revolt.
Lunch break at 13:00. After lunch we will discover the Grand Covered Bazaar: one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops attracting between 250,000 and half a million visitors daily. It is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. We will visit a handmade Turkish carpets demonstration. Time to return back to the hotel.
ADDITIONAL TOUR (45 EURO PER PERSON): Topkapı Palace – 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, and the Holy Mantle enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed.
Day 3 – City Tour with Basilica Cistern Breakfast Included
Morning: having breakfast in the hotel. Pick-up time for the tour is at 09:00 to enjoy a full-day tour in Istanbul. First stop will be the Basilica Cistern: this subterranean cistern was called Basilica because it was located under a large public square, the Stoa Basilica, on the First Hill of Constantinople. Prior to its construction, a great basilica stood on the spot, built during the Early Roman Age between the 3rd and 4th centuries as a commercial, legal, and artistic center. The basilica was reconstructed by Illus after a fire in 476.
Time to discover the Istanbul Archaeology Museums: The origins of the museum can be traced back to the nearby Hagia Irene Church. After the conquest of Istanbul, the church’s location close to the barracks of the Janissaries saw it transformed into a de facto 'inner arsenal' for storing their weapons. By 1726, during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III, it functioned as a full-fledged armory known as Dar-ul Esliha, or "House of Weapons" in Turkish. By the 19th century, the church was also being used to store the varied artifacts amassed by the Ottoman Empire.
Our last spot will be the Suleymaniye Mosque: Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent chose the architect Mimar Sinan to create a mosque in memory of his son Sehzade (Crown Prince) Mehmed. Suleyman was so impressed with the ensuing Sehzade Mosque that he asked Sinan to design a mosque for himself too. This mosque would represent the pre-eminence of the Ottoman Empire. In designing the Suleymaniye Mosque, Sinan took inspiration from the Hagia Sophia and the Bayezid II Mosque. The mosque was built on the site of the old palace of Topkapi which was still in use at the time and had to be demolished. Time to return back to the hotel.
Day 4 – Departure from Istanbul Breakfast Included
One of Grandoria’s adventures concludes after breakfast. We hope you have enjoyed your journey through Turkey. Wishing you all the best and a pleasant flight. Transfer from the hotel to the airport will follow.