Istanbul: Full-Day Bosphorus & Ottoman Splendors Tour

Cruise the Bosphorus and from the deck of your cruise boat, take in the sights and sounds of this legendary waterway, lined with historic villages, grandiose waterfront mansions, imposing fortresses, like Anadolu Hisari, and the Baroque palaces of the late Ottoman sultans. After your cruise, travel along the breathtaking Golden Horn to the Spice Bazaar, a thrilling riot of colors, sounds and the smells of exotic spices.  Enjoy your Lunch. Visit Topkapi Palace, the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries, housing an exquisite collection of precious gems, jewelry thrones of sultans, robes worn by the sultans and their families, miniatures, the Holy Mantle and the Chamber of Sacred Relics. (The harem is not included in the program and visit will require an extra entrance fee.)  Duration for Topkapi Palace: 1 hour 45 minutes Our next stop, Hagia Irene, the Church of the Holy Peace, is one of the few churches in Istanbul that was never converted into a mosque. Hagia Irene reputedly stands on the site of a pre-Christian temple and has the distinction of being the first church built in Byzantium as it was converted into the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. From there, we visit Gülhane Park, once a part of the outer gardens of Topkapı Palace, where the Edict of Gülhane, a declaration of rights and liberties that played an essential role in the modernization of the Ottoman Empire. After the proclamation of the Republic, Gülhane Park was for many years home to the Istanbul Zoo.