TOURS

HALF DAY TOUR ALTERNATIVES

İSTANBUL CLASSICS -THE IMPERIAL TOUR Sultanahmet , was the heart of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople and Osman Empire, right here the Emperors and Sultans built their palaces, churches, mosques, and other important public buildings.

               Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum, in Istanbul. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.
               Blue Mosque, founded by Sultan Ahmet I, is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul, especially when viewed from the First Hill or from the Asian shore of the Sea of Marmara. It is very impressive with its beautiful domes and semidomes, nice courtyards and six slender minarets. Hippodrome, was a horse-racing track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and the largest city in Europe. The obelisk of Theodosius, Serpentine Column, German Fountain of Wilhelm II are the monuments decorating Hippodrome.
               Located in Ibrahim Pasa Palace, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum is a treasure-house of beautiful objects from the Ottoman (14th to 20th century), Seljuk (11th to 13th century) and earlier periods beginning in the 8th century.
               Grand Covered Bazaar, is the most attractive shopping center and biggest "souk" in the world with nearly 4000 shops selling antiques, jewellery, gold, carpets, leatherware and souvenirs.

OTTOMAN RELICS

                Topkapı Palace, constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, (the Conqueror) in 1478, was the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans and center of State Administration around 380 years until the construction of Dolmabahçe Palace by Sultan Abdülmecid.
                Süleymaniye Mosque, a grand mosque in Istanbul , was built on the order of sultan Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1557.

FULL DAY TOUR ALTERNATIVES

DOLMABAHÇE PALACE & TWO CONTINENTS (Europe & Asia)

                Dolmabahçe Palace, the last residence for Ottoman Sultans with 365 rooms and 22 saloons from 1853 to 1922, apart from a twenty-year period (1889-1909) in which the Yıldız Palace was used. Famous with the great collection of European antiquity, furniture and 4.5 tons chandelier.

BYZANTINE & OTTOMAN SPLENDOURS

                St. Sophia * Blue Mosque * Hippodrome * Grand Covered Bazaar * Lunch at famous Konyalı Restaurant in Topkapı Palace * Topkapı Palace * Süleymaniye Mosque

RAHMİ KOÇ MUSEUM
www.rmk-museum.org.tr

                The Rahmi M Koç Museum is the first major museum in Turkey dedicated to the history of Transport, Industry and Communications. Housed in magnificent buildings - themselves prime examples of industrial archeology - on the shore of the historic Golden Horn, the collection contains thousands of items from gramophone needles to full size ships and aircraft. The location is unrivalled - romantic, historic, convenient to both the Old City and the new. And the appeal is universal: objects that affect our daily lives, created by talented engineers and craftsmen, encapsulating man's ingenuity and hard work yet at the same time exhibiting great beauty.

MINIATURK
www.miniaturk.com.tr

                Miniaturk traces a 3000-year history from Antiquity to Byzantium, from Seljuks to the Ottoman Empire and into the present day. Special attention was paid to include every civilization that ruled in and around Anatolia and left their marks.
                The structures that are on exhibition in Miniaturk were selected by a board chaired by Prof. İlber Ortaylı and Assistant Prof. Ahmet Haluk Dursun. The board was careful to select architectural works whose models could technically be made. Monumental structures, which reflect the technology, art and culture of the civilization to which they belong and which witnessed fierce invasions, wars and destruction for thousands of years and yet still survived because civilizations protected and renovated them without destroying just because they were built by previous civilizations, are now represented by their models in Miniaturk.
                In addition to the models on exhibition in the open-air museum, Miniaturk also has different places where the visitors can enjoy themselves. These places include a 400-seat amphitheater, a gift shop that sells souvenirs of Miniaturk, a playground to attract the interest of younger visitors, a life size chess board and a labyrinth.

İSTANBUL TOY MUSEUM
www.istanbuloyuncakmuzesi.com

                Turkish poet and author Mr. Sunay Akın opened the first and the only private toy museum of Turkey on the 23rd of April, 2005. He noticed a toy museum in Nurnberg-Germany in 1990 and laid the foundations of the İstanbul Toy Museum with a toy horse he purchased from an antique shop in Germany. He expanded his collection for over 15 years and collected 7000 antique toys. Meanwhile he he made serious efforts to convert the historical villa, belonging to his family into a cozy museum. 4000 toys are on display in this four-floor museum located in Göztepe, İstanbul.