Istanbul Two Continents Tour

Day 1 : Istanbul Two Continents Tour (Private)

CITY WALLS

The city walls around the Old City was built during the Constantine time after Istanbul was declared as new capital of Roman Empire and named Constantinople ‘New Rome’ in 330 AD. The walls used to touch the water to provide more protection and during the republic time in 20th century, the road was built.

DRIVE BY GOLDEN HORN
The Golden Horn is 8 km long natural bay and it was named because of the beautiful view of sunset over water. During the Byzantine and Ottoman time it was used as harbor and helped maritime business to improve. The European side divides into two with Golden Horn as Old City and New City.

SPICE BAZAAR (Egyptian Bazaar)

The Spice Bazaar is an old traditional bazaar from 17th century, it is full of colors, herbs, Turkish delights, nuts, spices.

BOSPHORUS CRUISE

Istanbul is a unique city which is founded on two continents as Europe and Asia. With the Bosphorus Cruise, you have a chance to see both sides of the city. The Asian side is more residential compared to European side and you may see wooden mansions, summer palaces of Sultans, fortresses and pretty neighborhoods. During the cruise, you will have a chance to see stunning Dolmabahçe Palace, Ortakoy Mecidiye Mosque, Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges, Kuleli Military School, Küçüksu Summer Palace from sea.

RUMELI FORTRESS (From the sea)

The fortress was built during the conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 15th century. To control the Bosphorus strait during the conquest, they put a chain from here to opposite side. It is a nice example of military architecture and it was built as M shape (in arabic alphabet) to represent Sultan Mehmet.

BEYLERBEYI PALACE 

As the Asian side is cooler during the summer time, Ottoman Sultans used to reside in Beylerbeyi Palace and it was also used to entertain visiting heads of states. The palace is built by Sarkis Balyan with rococo and baroque style. It has gorgeous reception hall with marble pool and magnificent gardens.

CAMLICA HILL

Camlıca hill is the highest point of the city and provides magnificent panorama for visitors. You can see meandering Bopshorus along the way, business center of the city, two bridges and Old City from here.