Full Day Historical Walking Tour of Istanbul Old City from Hagia Sophia

based on 75 reviews

Duration:6 hours to 8 hours (approx.)
Location: Istanbul, Turkey

From $

Book in 2 easy steps:

1. Select A Date

2. Enter Total No Of Travellers

CHILD (Age : 2 to 11)

ADULT (Age : 12 to 80)

Free Cancellation

Upto 24 hours in Advance.

Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Top Selling Tours & Activities

Additional fees

Small Group

Walking Tours

Cultural Tours

Historical Tours

Archaeology Tours

PRODUCT DETAILS
TRAVELER REVIEWS
TRAVELER PHOTOS

We will be meeting with our guests at the gate of the Hagia Sophia and will start our walking tour with visiting Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul.
Afterward, we will visit Blue Mosque, A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets, and eight secondary domes.
Then we walk to the Hippodrome square and see the city walls and the Leather atelier workshop. You will be seeing each part of the production. After the lunch break, we will visit Topkapi Palace, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1.
Officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia, is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city's Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque
2.
Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, is an Ottoman-era mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, the principal mosque of Istanbul until the Blue Mosque's construction and another popular tourist site.
3.
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square) in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with a few fragments of the original structure surviving. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.
4.
The Topkapı Palace is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.
5.
On tuesdays only, as Topkapi Palace museum is closed on tuesdays and we will visit Underground cistern instead of Topkapi Palace on tuesdays. The Basilica Cistern, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 metres
6.
One of the oldest structures inside the Topkapı Palace, dating back to Byzantine Empire era of the Istanbul/Constantinopolis.

ADDITIONAL INFO

CANCELLATION POLICY

Posted By : Albert_K
I had a great time walking, sightseeing and learning various stuff about Istanbul. I would strongly recommend this tour for anyone on their first trip to Istanbul - its a great dive-in for any tourist.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-22 12:51:51

Posted By : sukhB101
The guide (Ilaya Aluc) was excellent with a very positive energy. She took us around all the historical places and explained it all in detail. She has excellent subject knowledge.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-13 08:47:00

Posted By : Aneeta_B
Unfortunately a very poor experience.
Omer karaman was dull, not loud enough, and didn't excite or make the tour interesting. At lunch he sat smoking while we were done eating and I had to goto him and complain about this situation.

I accept a few people wanted to leave the tour and wanted to change plans but at the end of the day, we were still there.

This tour didn't include the Basilica Cistern even though it's stated and also the prices were double for the Topkapi Palace advertised at 750 was actually 1500. The others were also priced differently. I will discuss this element with Viator.

A very poor start to our Istanbul trip but luckily we have another two days.

Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-08 15:17:10

Posted By : Deepika_S
The Guide Omer Karaman was very kind and luckily for us there were only 3 of us. We could set our pace. He was good and knowledgeable. We just had a bit of trouble with the accent but was not a problem.
Had a great time!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-11-29 14:05:20

Posted By : mbowen340
The Hagia Sophia mosque was spectacular. We did a lot of walking but it was all worth it. Guide was supposed to meet us at the entrance of the building. We could not find anyone holding an umbrella. After about 15 minutes, we received a call from the guide that he was in the garden past the entrance area and waiting for us. This was the only problem. Otherwise, it was a fantastic tour and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Love to go back to Istanbul, Michael B.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-11-21 13:13:42

Posted By : Sen_B
The guide didn’t show up so I didn’t go on the tour.
I have a requested a refund and have yet to hear back.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-07-07 02:20:38

Posted By : C9022ZJroseb
Tour was very informative and covered a lot of the major highlights. However the description said the guide would take us around the Grand Bazaar but we were given an hour to navigate it ourselves. We also didn’t appreciate the ‘fashion show’ in the leather shop which got added during the tour. Having said that the guide was very knowledgeable.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-06-27 09:39:35

Posted By : Sinisa S
We booked our tour yesterday. It was supposed to start at 10:00 today in front of Hagia Sophia. They sent an e-mail last night that pick up time was moved 45 minutes earlier. We certainly don’t keep on checking our mail continuously on holiday. We were waiting from 9:45 to 10:30 for our guide in huge crowd and approaching all the other guides to clarify the matter. Only to discover later during the day about the late e-mail and different pick up time. So we haven’t had our tour!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-06-05 12:04:47

Posted By : phil592013
Disorganised communication as meeting place changed. Guide diid rescue us (Ugo) thankfully. He was friendly a nd patient . Some humour. OK overall. Persistent heavy rain but cleared by afternoon.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-05-18 15:09:15

Posted By : Karen_S
We had a great day, led by our guide Unal. We saw most of the major historical sites in Sultanahmet. Unal was so informative and patient.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2023-05-12 14:43:48