"Classic Wonders" Tour
Description
Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul: no other city in the world has known so much glory under three different names. Three civilizations, three empires, three great religions. The district of SULTANAHMET looks like a living museum. www.guidefrancophoneistanbul.net
Tour Options
Itinerary
Saint Sophia "Haghia Sophia" in Greek means "divine wisdom", is an extraordinary architectural achievement from the 6th century. Built by Anthémios de Tralles and Isodore de Millet, it was inaugurated by Justinien and his wife Théodora (537). This Byzantine masterpiece has splendid mosaics with a gold background and colored marbles. Justinian for the construction of the dome had ordered from Rhodes bricks of earth so light that twelve of them weighed no more than an ordinary brick, they bore the following inscription: "It is God who founded, God will help him. " The Ottomans had transformed it into a mosque, then in 1935 it became a museum.
The Blue Mosque (1609-1616) is one of the most famous mosques in the world with six minarets, it owes its name to the ceramic tiles (around 20,000) from Iznik (Nicea) predominantly blue which line its interior walls. .
The Palace of TOPKAPI has 4 different courtyards, it settled on 70ha before the construction of the railway network and was the residence of the sultans until the 19th century. For 4 centuries it was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire. The Palace housed the headquarters of DIVAN, the main body of power. Its huge kitchen fed between 4 and 5 thousand people a day. Today the kitchen hosts a collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. Its famous treasure, with the 86-carat "kasikçi" diamond, the gold chandeliers decorated with diamonds, the sultan's thrones are witnesses to the rich history of the empire. In the 3rd courtyard of the palace is the hall of the relics of the prophet Mohammed, it is a holy place for Muslims. The kiosks in the 4th courtyard complete this architectural beauty of the palace. On these terraces, you have a breathtaking view of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.
A sixth century water reserve with 336 columns and a volume DE 90 000 m3.
The racecourse DE the Byzantine Empire by Constantine the Great, the obelisk, the serpentine column
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(46)
A big THANK YOU to Mustafa who helped us discover Istanbul and Cappadocia. Passionate, fascinating guide who listens to both young and old! He knew how to captivate the children, the teenagers, the whole family. Thanks to him, we went off the beaten path. You can book with your eyes closed with Mustafa, you can only be won over! Thanks again to Mustafa who will remain etched in our hearts!
We were lucky to be accompanied by Mustafa throughout our stay, both in Istanbul and in Cappadocia, and that truly made all the difference. Passionate about his country, he shares his knowledge with remarkable ease and makes every visit captivating. His explanations are always clear, lively, and enriched with fascinating anecdotes that allow you to discover Turkey from a different perspective. Always attentive to the group, available, and kind, he takes the time to answer all questions and adapts his pace so that everyone fully enjoys the visits. You can feel that he perfectly masters the history, culture, and traditions of the country, while remaining accessible and pleasant to listen to. Thanks to him, we didn't just visit magnificent places: we truly understood their history and their importance. His professionalism, good humor, and enthusiasm largely contributed to the success of our trip. A huge thank you to Mustafa for this unforgettable experience. He is without a doubt one of the best guides we have ever had. If you are lucky enough to be accompanied by him, you can go for it with your eyes closed.
We were in Turkey with my whole family and thanks to Mustafa, we had an incredible stay thanks to his great historical culture and his knowledge. He knows everyone and allowed us to visit places off the beaten path. He is also very attentive to what everyone likes and dislikes in order to adjust the visits every day. We also noticed the great respect the other guides have for him. He is a benchmark.
We highly recommend this guide, simply wonderful
Merci beaucoup A Bientôt
We went to Cappadocia as a family for 6 days with Mustapha! It is a rewarding and unforgettable experience! We loved the program designed by Mustapha, everything was successful! A big thank you to him for a wonderful stay! Cecile , David , Lucien & Gaspard
Thank you very much to Mustafa for these two days of visiting the must-sees and behind the scenes of the Grand Bazaar! A passionate and exciting guide who shares his knowledge with great enthusiasm. His humor and good humor made the experience even more enjoyable and authentic. A rich, lively and unforgettable visit, which we highly recommend!
Our week in Istanbul would not have been so rich in discoveries without Mustafa's company. This guide is passionate and makes the tours very interesting and enjoyable. I had selected places I wanted to see. There were both the main tourist sites and less popular neighborhoods. Mustafa has concocted a beautiful tour route with incredible places that would have been inaccessible to us without his company. Many thanks to Mustapha. A nice meeting I highly recommend. It is very likely that we will return to Turkey in a while and why not discover Cappadocia with Mustafa of course.
Our extended weekend in Istambul would have been so poor without the company of this Mustapha guide. Mustapha is passionate and makes visits very interesting and very pleasant. Mustapha after suggesting tours that we could have arranged as we liked, accompanied us for two days and introduced us to the usual cultural places and also incredible places that would have been inaccessible to us without his company. Many thanks because without you Mustapha we would have missed so much culturally, intellectually and tastefully. Nice meeting I highly recommend
Back from SRI LANKA and MALDIVES we stopped for 3 nights and 2 days in Istamboul. We were 4 and we spent these 2 days on the old town with Mustapha. Its strengths: punctuality, availability, listening to its customers, adapting to the pace of customers, speaking perfect French and very in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of its country. Besides, in the big bazaar, he avoided tourist routes to take us to the "local part" and show us "real life". If you can, for the cruise on the Bosphorus I recommend the option "private boat" which in addition to the longer duration (+/- 1 hour) also allows to take full advantage of the knowledge of Mustapha. This guide has passionate us to the point that we will go again to Istamboul and certainly then to Cappadocia and we will use his services at that time. I recommend you 200%!!!
Thank you to Mustafa for introducing me to the wonders of Istanbul. I learned a lot about their story thanks to his very clear explanations! I had a great day with him and I can only recommend his services!
Merci à vous . C'était un grand plaisir de vous guider dans l'ancienne ville . A la prochaine .
