Byzantine & Ottoman Relics

Full Day Tour (lunch included).

Places to see:

St. Sophia * Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmet * Hippodrome * Serpentine Column * Obelisk of Theodosius * German Fountain * Grand Covered Bazaar * Lunch at a typical Turkish Restaurant * Topkapi Palace * Suleymaniye Mosque

*Also visioned during the tour: Galata Bridge, Golden Horn, Leander's Tower

St. Sophia (Haghia Sophia): One of the greatest marvels of architecture constructed as a Basilica in 532 on the orders Emperor Justinian and considered as the 8th wonder of the world by most art historians. The Basilica, later converted to a mosque by the Ottomans is now a Museum. It is the third largest basilica in the world and its mosaics celebrate the glory of Byzantium as well as of the Emperors and Empresses.

Blue Mosque: The Blue mosque is one of the most impressive landmarks of Istanbul, located in the center of historical district Sultanahmet. Its name comes from the unique blue tiles at the magnificient interior of the mosque. The Blue Mosque was built by the order of Sultan Ahmet I. Architect Mehmet Aga began the construction in 1609 and it was completed in 1616. The mosque’s location is just opposite of Hagia Sophia, according to the historical resources, architect Mehmet Aga tried  to construct a bigger dome then Hagia Sophia’s but he could not succeed to do it. There is also another interesting story of the mosque; Sultan Ahmet I wanted to have a minaret made of gold which is called “Altın” in Turkish, somehow the architect Mehmet Aga misunderstood what Sultan said as “Altı” which means “six” in English. So he added six minarets to the mosque. When the architect was waiting to be beheaded because of his mistake, Sultan liked the minarets so much and this saved his life. Prior to that time, none of the sultans had a mosque with 6 minarets.  

Hippodrome Square: With a capacity for 100,000 spectators, the Hippodrome was a scene for the political struggles and uprisings in the capital city of the Empire.  The construction of the race tracks and the cavea started in the reign of Emperor Septimus Severus and were completed a hundred years later under Constantine the Great.  The stones from the structure was used in the construction of the Blue Mosque.  Today the only remains of the Hippodrome are the three monumental columns and a fountain.
The granite obelisk was brought from the temple of Karnak on the River Nile, by the Roman emperor Theodosius.  The second is the “Column of the Serpent”, brought from the Temple of Apollo in Delphi and the third is a present from German Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Ottoman dynasty (German Fountain).

Grand Bazaar: Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, originally founded in 1453 at the command of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, the immense covered market has over 4.000 shops, restaurants, workshops, banks and mosques. The oldest and largest covered bazaar in the world is situated in the heart of the city and was the birth mother of modern shopping malls. One cannot appreciate this market without visiting it. It resembles a giant labyrinth with approximately sixty lanes.

Topkapi Palace: Home to the sultans from the 15th to the mid 19th century, once housed a staff of 10.000. Elegantly seated on the promontory of the historical peninsula in Istanbul, overlooking the Marmara Sea, the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, among Topkapı’s most magnificient treasures are its collection of jewels, like the 86-carat pear-shaped Spoonmaker Diamond and the eleborately decorated secret chambers of the harem. With its kitchen full of various samples of crystal, gold, silver and china porcelains and with the Ottoman Treasury and sacred relics in it, it is the most important highlight of Istanbul.

Suleymaniye Mosque: a masterpiece of the famous architect Sinan, built in the name of Suleyman the Magnificent during the 16th Century. The mosque is located in the centre of a large religious complex (kulliye), stands as the most important work of Architect Sinan, one of the greatest architects in the history of the world. 

The monumental tombs of the Sultan and his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane) are in the graveyard to the south-east of the mosque.  In comparison with Istanbul’s other religious buildings, the Suleymaniye Mosque clearly stands out as an unique example of classical Ottoman architecture with perfectly integrated sections, beautiful stained-glass windows and the extraordinary harmony of its structural elements.