Turkish Delights

Fly from your chosen airport to Istanbul and transfer to your chosen accommodation for a four-night stay.

A fabulous full day of city sightseeing includes visits to the Hagia (Saint) Sophia Mosque, a Byzantine church boasting spectacular mosaics; the Hippodrome, centred by the Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius; the mystical subterranean structures of the Basilica Cistern; and the lively, colourful, and aromatically scented Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar; later embarking on a classic Bosphorus cruise, passing palaces, mosques, and villas.
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Filled with visits to Istanbul’s most iconic sights, a city tour today visits the huge Süleymaniye Mosque, with its monumental arches and 47m-high dome; the Ottoman, multi-minareted Blue Mosque, magnificently adorned with Iznik tiles; the jewel in the crown of Sultanahmet Square, the lavish Topkapi Palace, including its gardens, Harem, and famed Imperial Treasury, where the crystal-encrusted dagger of Selim I and the 86 carat ‘Spoonmaker’s Diamond’ are among the precious and priceless 13^th to 19^th -century objects; and concluding amid the buzz of the Grand Bazaar.
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Today’s tour takes in Turkey’s largest, most grandiose palace, the Dolmabahçe, its 19^th-century façade dominating the waterside; the bustling Beyoglu district, on the European side of Istanbul.

Visit an authentic Turkish café and enjoy Turkish coffee or tea with some Turkish delights and baklava. Later make your way to the Eyup Sultan Mosque, close to the Golden Horn, built atop the 7th-century tomb of a revered holy man of the city.

Explore the 15th-century Yedicule Fortress, ‘The Castle of Seven Towers’, its square twin towers forming the city’s Golden Gate, its dungeons steeped in gruesome legends. After the tour, enjoy your last night in Istanbul with dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the cityscape.
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Transfer to Istanbul airport for the return flight, or extend your stay for extra days of independent discovery.
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