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Half Day Morning |
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Departs |
08:00 |
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Ends |
12:30 |
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Duration |
4
Hours |
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Guaranteed
Departure |
All Year Round |
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What to visit |
St. Sophia with guide and continue to Hippodrome, Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar.
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Blue Mosque
Blue Mosque Was
built by Sultan Ahmet I during 1609-1616 in the square carrying his
name in Istanbul. It is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets.
The central dome is 43 m in height and is 33.4 m in diameter. 260
windows surround the mosque. Due to its beautiful blue, green and
white tilings it has been named the "Blue Mosque" by Europeans. The
inscriptions were made by Seyyid Kasım Gubari.
Roman Hippodrome and Obelisk
The ancient Hippodrome, scene of
chariot races and the centre of Byzantine civic life, stands in the
area that is now in front of the Blue Mosque, and now part of
Sultanahmet. Of the ornaments which once decorated it, only three
remain: The Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and
the Column of Constantine. Remains of the curved end of the Hippodrome
wall can be seen on the southwest side of the three.
Hagia Sophia Basilica
The primary church in Constantinople,
Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), is inaugurated after being rebuilt by
Emperor Justinian I (527-565). After the fall of Constantinople to the
Ottomans in 1453 Hagia Sophia became a mosque and is now a museum. The
church of Hagia Sophia was the most important church of the Christian
East. It was also structurally the first of its design, with the
biggest dome ever constructed for a church, which created a light,
well illuminated interior. The same year Justinian ordered to build a
new basilica, the one we can see today, and only five years later, 537
AD, it was opened to the public. In 1453, with the conquest of
Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted the church into a
mosque. Hagia Sophia Museum, the legacy of both Christian and Muslim
culture, was opened for visits according to the order of Ataturk and
decision of the Turkish Assembly of Ministers on the 1st of February,
1935.
Grand Covered Bazaar
This bazaar was first built by Sultan
Mehmet the Conqueror and was expanded during the reign of Sultan
Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), and reached its present form in
1701. Its extends over 65 streets, covering an area of 30.702 square
meters. It contains a mosque, 21 inns, two vaulted bazaars, seven
fountains, a well and 3300 shops. It possesses 18 gates, eight of them
large, ten of then smaller. It has survived five fires, and has been
restored and repaired and has reached our present times.
GENERAL INFORMATION &
CONDITIONS
We kindly request our guests to be ready 10 minutes before departure
time,
30% discount for children below the age 7, free for the ages 0-2, |
