Treasures of Istanbul
"Imperial Constantinople in the Belle Epoque"

You're cruising to or from Istanbul, you'd like to enjoy the city for several days before or after your cruise, and you've made your own hotel reservations? This tour is for you!

See the best of historic Istanbul .(Constantinople, Byzantium) -in only 4 days

Compare the 3 day and 6 days version
Add Spain : Andalusia , Madrid and Costa Del Sol

Add a Gulet Cruise : Start in Dalaman and on to Antalya

DAY 1 -- ISTANBUL
Our staff meets your flight , or cruise line ( Oceania Cruises , Princess Cruises , Crystal Cruises or other Mediterranean cruises ), and escorts you to your hotel. and escorts you from the port or the airport to the hotel you have reserved on your own. Welcome to Istanbul! We'll provide you with the best-selling Lonely Planet guidebook to Istanbul so you can use the remaining time today to make your first explorations in this historic, exotic city.

DAY 2 -- ISTANBUL- (L)
Today we visit Istanbul's top sights: Topkapi, the palace of the sultans for centuries; Hagia Sophia, the greatest church in Christendom for a thousand years; the Blue Mosque, with its billowing domes and exquisite blue tiles; the Byzantine Hippodrome, scene of chariot races and gladiator combat; and the eerie Sunken Palace Cistern. After lunch, a drive through more modern neighborhoods brings us to the ancient City Walls and the Kariye Museum (Chora Church), filled with brilliant 13th-century Byzantine mosaics.

DAY 3 -- ISTANBUL, " Paris of the East" (L)
We start our morning walking tour in Karaköy, the historic district once called Galata, where foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters since medieval times. From Galata we ride the little two-station underground train, the Tünel, up to Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue), formerly the Grande Rue de Pera. A few steps from the Tünel we stop for a look at a museum which was once a tekke (ceremonial hall) for Whirling Dervishes.

Our walking tour takes us along the avenue--now a pedestrian zone-- past the grand old 19th-century embassy buildings of the great European empires (they now serve as consulates), admiring their Belle Epoque architecture. We stop for tea (included in your tour) at the romantic old Pera Palace Hotel, built to lodge the pampered European travelers arriving in Constantinople on the Orient Express.

After tea we continue our stroll to Galatasaray Square and admire the Galatasaray Lycée, the first European-style school in the Ottoman Empire. We have lunch across the street in a Belle Epoque landmark--the courtyard of the Cité de Péra building called the Çiçek Pasaji (Flower Passage). After lunch we'll continue our stroll along Istikklal Caddesi past embassies and shops to Taksim Square, the heart of modern Istanbul.

From Taksim Square we'll drive to Yildiz Palace, the favorite residence of the powerful, despotic Sultan Abdulhamid II, a vast estate on the hills above the Bosphorus. After seeing the palace park we'll stop at the nearby Kiosk of the Linden Tree (Ihlamur Kasri), an elaborate mini-palace south of Yildiz, where the sultan came to escape the cares of government. Then a short ride takes us to the Military History Museum on the grounds of Harbiye (Turkey's "West Point") in time to enjoy a short mid-afternoon concert by the Mehter, the world's oldest military band founded centuries ago during the Ottoman Empire.

Finally, we'll drive back to Old Istanbul for a shopping spree in the 4000 shops and boutiques of the labyrinthine Grand Bazaar.

DAY 4 -- DEPARTURE
Our local rep will assist you with the transfer to Istanbul airport for your flight home.

Note: You may join us for Treasures of Istanbul starting any day of the week, but the itinerary may change due to site closings: the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday, Hagia Sophia on Monday, Topkapi Palace on Tuesday, and the Kariye Museum on Wednesday.

If Day 1 is... This site is closed:
Wednesday (No closings)
Thursday (No closings)
Friday Grand Bazaar closed on Day 3
Saturday (No closings)
Sunday Hagia Sophia closed on Day 2
Monday Topkapi Palace closed on Day 2
Tuesday Kariye Museum closed on Day 2

When a sight is closed, we substitute another sight of comparable interest. If a site will be closed on Day 2 or Day 3, you may wish to visit it on Day 1 on your own, using your guidebook, if time allows.

(Compare the 3 day   and 6 days versions)

RATES (per person)

YOUR TOUR INCLUDES

• Set-menu lunch (L), dinner (D) as shown
• Fully escorted,private guided sightseeing, including all admissions fees
• All transfers in Istanbul
  
• Lonely Planet Istanbul guidebook .

Rate doesn't include :

• International air fare.
• Visa Fee : $20 in cash upon arrival, for US citizens, or $45 for Canadians, or from any of the Turkish Consulates
• Trip/travel insurance, please ask us for the flyer or visit : www.travelexinsurance.com
• Continental or buffet breakfast daily
• Hotel accommodation .

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