Istanbul is for you at any time...

Friends, this offer is especially for those who want to see Istanbul based on their arrival time. Now it does not matter when you arrive, you can organize everything at a convenient time for you. Start tonight, continue tomorrow or vice versa. It is only important that some attractions are accessible only in the daytime, so we break down the program into evening-night and daytime.

- Evening-

Old town. We will see one of the largest mosques in Istanbul Sultan Ahmet, it is also called the blue mosque for the interior decoration of blue and turquoise ceramics, we will walk along the square with fountains. Opposite we will see the Temple of Hagia Sophia, which was once a temple, then became a mosque, and today is a museum. We will see the “zero kilometer” of the Roman Empire

From the Sultan Ahmet district, we will walk to the metro station and go to the Kadyköy district. The trip on this section of the metro is remarkable because the train will take us to the Asian part under the Bosphorus. The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire dreamed of building an underwater tunnel connecting Asia with Europe, but such a complex engineering structure was built only today. We will go to one of the largest areas of the city, with its own atmosphere and history. In general, each of the districts is like a city in a city, which is probably why they say Istanbul - a city of contrasts. So we're in Kadyköy. It is noteworthy that there are not so many tourists in it, which will allow you to see the “real” life. Also, there are almost no migrants in other areas, tourists mistaken for local residents, this often distorts the image of the indigenous citizen. The area is characterized by secularism and politically oppositional views. The streets are teeming with restaurants, shops and a huge variety of street food. From the embankment on the water bus ship will go back to Europe, in the area of Besiktas.

Ships are essentially public transport and carry a huge number of people every day. Sitting on the open deck, you can see the bridges shining with different colors, admire the lights of the night embankments.

Taksim Square and Gezi Park.

Istiklal sleepless pedestrian street. The legendary Hotel Pera. Galata Tower

Taksim is in fact the heart of the city, on the square itself there are various public events, festive processions, as well as protests of citizens. In the center of the square is a monument, in the center of Ataturk, and on the right hand of him Voroshilov and Frunze. The square is crowded day and night, with it begins the most crowded pedestrian street Istiklal. Here tourists are entertained by amateur musicians, live statues and offer their work street artists. Lots of street food. A huge number of cafes and restaurants alternate with shops of various brands from elite to folk. The Russian Consulate is located on this street. One of the attractions is the oldest hotel in Istanbul, the Pera Hotel is 125 years old. On Istiklal Street we will reach the famous Galata Tower. It is one of the oldest monuments in Istanbul. The height of the tower is 61 meters and it was built in the 14th century! In addition, it is located on the hill of the same name, which makes it visible from many areas. In the rays of architectural night lighting, the tower is majestic and beautiful.

Karakoy District

History has mixed in Karaköy churches and brothels, maritime customs and a Greek school, cannon workshops and immigrant restaurants. Over the past few years, this area has been “taken” by the most fashionable cafes, creative agencies, conceptual galleries and shops. It seems that they are not going to retreat at all, but on the contrary, they have found a grateful audience and regular visitors, who are very different from the motley youth and tourist crowd of Taksim.

-Day-

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.

Excursion to Topkapi Palace:

The main palace of the Ottoman Empire is just behind Hagia Sophia. The palace includes four courtyards. The first leads to the main entrance, there are ticket offices and on the foundation of the ancient temple of Aphrodite built a slightly younger (1700 years old) Church of St. Irene.

Entrance to the second courtyard through the Greeting Gate. The Harem is on the left. Here lived wives, eunuchs, concubines and the mother of the sultan - the mistress of this part of the palace.

The Gate of Happiness leads to the third courtyard. At the entrance there is a small pavilion - the audience hall, where negotiations were conducted under the noise of the fountain. On the right is a collection of sultans' clothes. Next is a treasury of three halls, here are collected jewelry - for example, an 86-carat diamond "Spoon", surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds. Near the entrance to the Assembly of sacred relics, such as the tooth of the Prophet Muhammad, hair from the beard of the Prophet, the banner of the Prophet, the clothes of the Prophet. There are also Christian shrines - the hand of St. John the Baptist, for example.

In the fourth courtyard there used to be the famous Tulip Garden, there was even the position of “Minister of Tulips”. The homeland of these flowers is not Holland, but the Ottoman Empire, which is why the tulip (or lale) is chosen as a tourist symbol of the country.

Excursion to the Egyptian market "Mysyr charshasy"

One of the most famous local markets is the Egyptian market or Mysyr Charshysy. The Egyptian market is also known as the Spice Market. It is the second largest market in Istanbul after the Grand Bazaar. It is built in the shape of a mirror-reverse letter La gate and has 6. The bazaar domes are covered in lead.

The Egyptian market is behind the New Mosque, famous for its piazza with pigeons. It is located at the very edge of the shopping quarter, where it opens to the Golden Horn. This is the oldest market in Istanbul. It was built by the mother of Sultan Mehmed the Fourth in the year with the New Mosque of 1660. He was given a certain function: to provide funding for the construction of the mosque. According to legend, on the site of the existing stood a market called “Marco Envalos”, and it was during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire. It was called Egyptian or a manger, as the goods sold here were transported through Egypt, and ships arriving from that country unloaded their cargo near the market. According to this version, the construction of the market was made with funds from taxes in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The name "Egyptian Market" appeared, first of all, in the folk vocabulary, and only then it received official status.

If you have any questions or wishes, write. Any comments and wishes will be taken into account.