Begin your full-day tour with pickup at your European or Asian side hotel Istanbul. Your driver will head to Sultanahmet Square. Stop inside the Blue Mosque, with its six minarets and colorful tile work. Learn about the history of the Ottoman-era mosque.
Stroll across the square to Hagia Sophia, a museum that used to be a church and a mosque. Continue on to Topkapi Palace and discover its history as you wander through many ornate rooms.
Then head to Basilica Cistern The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns beneath the city that provided a water filtration system for the buildings nearby. This underground chamber measures approximately 138 meters (453 ft) by 64.6 meters (212 ft) and is capable of holding 80,000 cubic meters (2,800,000 cu ft) of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns.
Visiter to Istanbul should not miss to make a Bosphorus cruise with dinner (extra) on the 32 km (20-mile) long strait which joins the Sea of Marmara to the south with the Black Sea to the north of Istanbul. Snap pictures of the Bosphorus Bridge and pass by the ornate Dolmabahce Palace.
