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Istanbul: Basilica Cistern, Bosphorus Cruise, & Hagia Sophia

4.1 (87 Reviews)

Starting From

₹ 4,329 per adult

Reserve now & pay later to book your spot and pay nothing today

Discover the highlights of Istanbul with a bus tour of the Old City, a Bosphorus cruise, and a cable car ride down Pierre Loti Hill. Visit the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazar.

About this activity

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Duration 8.0 hour

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Live tour guide

English

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Details on this Activity

Itinerary

Find your guide at the meeting point or enjoy the convenience of being picked up from centrally-located hotels in Istanbul. Sit back and relax in an airconditioned coach with plenty of space on your way to the departure point. Visit the Blue Mosque to admire its 20,000 blue Iznik ceramic tiles and its 6 towering minarets. Find out how it was built for Sultan Ahmet I and how it was the last great mosque of the Classical period. Make your way to the sporting and social center of ancient Constantinople at the Hippodrome. View the German Fountain of Wilhelm II, the Bronze Serpentine Column, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Column of Constantine. Stop in front of Hagia Sophia. Learn about this 6th century building that was constructed by the emperor Justinian as a Greek Orthodox Church. Hear about how the Hagia Sophia has transformed over time and how it was the largest church in the world for 1000 years. Continue to the Basilica Cistern, avoid the hassle of waiting in lengthy ticket lines and uncover the wonders of the Basilica Cistern beneath the enchanting streets of Istanbul. Immerse yourself in the ancient beauty of this subterranean marvel as you stroll through its intriguing chambers, marveling at the impressive architecture and encountering the legendary Medusa heads from Greek mythology. Indulge in a shopping for memorable gifts at the store we'll visit prior to reaching the Grand Bazaar. Take as stroll through the Grand Covered Bazaar, the oldest and biggest covered market in the world. Get lost in 65 streets with more than 4000 shops. In the afternoon, hop aboard the coach for a scenic exploration of the Golden Horn by bus. Allow your guide to narrate the journey, pointing out historic wooden houses, churches, synagogues, mosques, and remnants of the Roman Wall as you traverse the captivating landscape. Ascend the Pierre Loti Hill by bus and snap some photos of sweeping views of the Golden Horn. Marvel at city views as you descend the hill on a cable car ride. Visit the Eyup Sultan Mosque and see the Abu Eyup Alansari Tomb (Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was the standard bearer and companion of Muhammad) The Mosque, due to its unique sacredness, it was the place where the coronation ceremonies of new Ottoman Sultans took place. Sultans came here processing along the grand Cülus Yolu (Accession Way) - to be girded with the Sword of Osman at the start of their reigns. Take in the city sights from the sea on a Bosphorus cruise. Capture pictures of of the Golden Horn, the Topkapı palace, the Dolmabahçe palace, the Hagia Sophia Mosque, the Maiden’s tower, Galata tower, the Blue Mosque, Ortaköy mosque. Gaze out at the bridges connecting Europe and Asia. At the end of your tour, return to your pickup point by coach.

Highlights

Marvel at views of Istanbul's skyline during a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait
Step back in time as you learn about the 6th-century Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
Capture pictures of the Golden Horn from Pierre Loti Hill and take a cable car
Look for a bargain as you pass by hundreds of stalls in the Grand Covered Bazaar
Explore Basilica Cistern with Guide & Priority admission & Skip the line ticket

Know before you go

• Since Januar 2024, the Hagia Sophia Mosque main Saloon is closed for the visit of tourists. Following the tour, you can visit mosque for an additional fee of 25 Euros. • Please dress appropriately when entering sacred sites. • Participants are advised to wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt. • Please bring a scarf to cover head. • The Grand Bazaar is closed on religious holidays and Sundays. • You will be granted the privilege to bypass the ticket line after paying your entrance fee to your guide in Turkish Lira and cash

Includes


Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option selected) Guide Blue Mosque guided visit Basilica Cistern guided visit Hippodrome guided visit Cruise ticket Cable car ticket

Reviews from other travelers

GetYourGuide traveler - Croatia

5 /5

(Written on 2023-11-13)

We were satisfed with our guide. He is know history very well. First of all we were wery dispoint becuse tourisr agency forgot us yesterday and we changed our tour for today..

Carmen - Germany

2 /5

(Written on 2023-06-11)

We were rushed through Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque (20 minutes total each) and then taken to a leather goods sales event for over an hour. The lunch that followed consisted of lentil soup, lettuce le (Read More)aves, dry rice and dry chicken & without a knife (!) in an unappealing restaurant. Then to the bus and up the Pierre Loti hill. 15 minutes to take pictures, then to the cable car - visit a mosque below (about 15 minutes), then to the bus and, oh no wonder, next stop at a candy store, for shopping because the boat doesn't come until four o'clock. Everyone gets off. .Stop here for 45 minutes! Conclusion: since the mosques do not cost admission and the cable car ticket is almost 3, - the tour is overpriced. The guide was not motivated at all, rattled off his text in barely understandable English and didn't even introduce himself at first. The boat trip was the highlight of the whole trip!

billy - Canada

5 /5

(Written on 2023-06-11)

Trip was amazing, guide was so friendly and easy going, knowledgeable and very caring about everybody in the group.Everything was organized very well and smooth, so would really warmly recommend the t (Read More)our❤

GetYourGuide traveler - United States

2 /5

(Written on 2024-03-20)

The guide took us to spots where he was getting the cut of the profits. The candy shop was marked up 90% compared to other same candy shops. We visited a leather goods store where we were forced to si (Read More)t through a “fashion show”. The guide was inappropriate, after the tour, attempting to contact when the other party was not interested and viewed the guide as a guide. Using the information from the tour to contact saying they are near their hotel and asking them to join them, when the party did not respond, the guide then used the information from the tour to find the person on social media, and attempt to contact that way. This was completely inappropriate. The guide’s name Seaneren. This tour was 90% tourist trap and the guide being inappropriate.

Maria Isabel Ruiz - Germany

4 /5

(Written on 2024-05-12)

The basilica cistern was amazing

Ruben - United States

5 /5

(Written on 2023-10-09)

Sean I believe is the name of our guide he was excellent took our group to Hagia Sophia Blue Mosque the Grand Bazaar Pierre Loti Hill and a cruise on the Bosporus also very Knowledgeable We also stopp (Read More)ed for lunch and a few other places And really enjoyed the experience would definitely recommend.

GetYourGuide traveler - United States

3 /5

(Written on 2023-06-12)

Our guide, Mr. Baki, was very informative and he led us through the line in a few places so that we didn’t have to wait as much as others. However, he wasn’t personable at all and didn’t make any atte (Read More)mpt to get to know us. It was a bit awkward. Since the Grand Bazaar was closed he took us to this leather shop where we watched a fashion show? Then they put the hard sell on us to buy a leather jacket. We were also shuttled to a Turkish delight/spice store where we were pressured to buy. I hated felling shoved into those places on a tour that I paid for?! Outside of those two things, everything else that we did made the tour a good value for the money.

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₹4,329 per adult