Short tour of Istanbul "Old City"

Excursion to the Roman Hippodrome:

The largest of the five Constantinople Hippodromes, the second largest in the Mediterranean, after the Great Circus in Rome, is used as the Turkish Ethnographic Islamic Art Museum. It was used as a place of horse races, gladiatorial battles, triumphal processions, public acts related to the transfer or addition of imperial power and the execution of executions. It was a kind of center of social and political life of the common people of the capital. There you will see the German spring, the column of Constantine, the palace of Ibrahim Pasha.

Excursion to the Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmed:

The mosque is located on the shores of the Sea of Marmara in the historic center of Istanbul in the Sultanahmet area opposite the Aya Sophia Museum. The mosque is one of the symbols of the city. The architecture of the mosque combines two styles - classical Ottoman and Byzantine. According to legend, the sultan ordered the construction of a standard number of (4) gold (altyn) minarets, but the architect confused something and built six (alta) minarets. The construction of the mosque lasted seven years and was completed in 1616, a year before the Sultan's death.

*Excursion to the Basilica Reservoir:

History Underground - Basilica Reservoir. The Basilica Reservoir, or as it is now called, the Yerebatan Palace (Underground Palace), located southwest of Ayasofya, is considered one of the most impressive monuments in Istanbul. A huge underground reservoir was built on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, because of the countless columns rising from the water, the people called this place - the Palace of Yerebatan. During the period of the republic, the Basilica Reservoir, after restoration, was turned into a museum by the City Hall of Istanbul and opened to tourists who do not leave the city without visiting this impressive building of antiquity. In 1985, the repository was closed for repairs, from it were removed from the mud and built paths for excursions 50,000, 1987 and reopened in. In May 1994, the Basilica Reservoir again underwent repair and cleaning, and today continues its centuries-old history, and how fish once swim in it. Visitors to this unusual museum can watch how fish swim among the numerous columns, and to the sounds of classical music heard under the ancient vaults go on a mental journey back in time.

Excursion to the temple of St. Sophia:

The former Patriarchal Orthodox Cathedral, later - a mosque, now - a museum; the world-famous monument of Byzantine architecture, a symbol of the "golden age" of Byzantium. The official name of the monument today is the Museum of Hagia Sophia (Tourist Cathedral of Hagia Sophia).

During the Byzantine Empire, the cathedral was located in the center of Constantinople next to the imperial palace. It is currently located in the historic center of Istanbul, Sultanahmet district. After the capture of the city by the Ottomans, the Sophia Cathedral was converted to a mosque, and in 1935 it acquired the status of a museum. In 1985, Sofia Cathedral, among other monuments of the historic center of Istanbul, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.