In a nutshell

The excursion combines the relaxation of a pleasant mini-cruise along the Bosphorus to admire the city gems with visits to some of the places the most represent its traditions and folklore such as the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar as well as one of its most famous mosques, i.e. the Blue Mosque.

Main stops

Spice market
Cruise along the Bosphorus Strait
Lunch
Grand Bazaar
Blue Mosque

The programme

Our tour begins at the Spice Market: we surround ourselves with a myriad of colours and flavours that immerse us in the local customs and traditions.
As we marvel at this fairy-tale setting, we feel as if we are the protagonists of a fairy tale featuring sultans, princesses, one thousand and one night palaces, gigantic bastions and historic suspension bridges between Asia and Europe.
It is with this spirit that we enjoy a thrilling and relaxing cruise along the Bosphorus Strait to admire the beauty of the ancient Turkish capital from a privileged viewpoint.
Lulled by the lapping waters, we admire a truly unique panorama: a stretch of sea that looks like a large river and unwinds for over 30 kilometres among lush hills, beaches, popular venues, imperial palaces with lovely gardens, mosques and wooden houses.
We take in the strait in all its glory as our guide makes us appreciate its importance not only from a landscape but also a main strategic standpoint.
The two fortresses, built on each bank, the Asian and the European, and other bastions on the surrounding hills are a perfect testimony of this.
A light fish lunch typical of the Turkish cuisine in a local restaurant is the perfect occasion for a reinvigorating break before plunging into the most varied and fun activity we can imagine: shopping inside the covered market known as the Grand Bazaar. It is one of the largest and most ancient covered markets in the world boasting over six thousand stalls selling everything you can imagine including carpets, jewellery, leather goods, silver and souvenirs.
The tour continues with a visit to the famous Sultan Ahmed Mosque known as the Blue Mosque because of its elegant blue and turquoise majolica tiled interiors, among the most beautiful and largest in Istanbul. Renowned for its architectural harmony, proportion and elegance, it is truly unique as it is the only original mosque in the world with six minarets.

Good to know

Dress code that is appropriate for the places of worship to be visited is recommended.
To enter the mosque, it is mandatory to cover your shoulders and legs (down to the knees) and remove your shoes.
Wheelchairs are not allowed to enter.
The covered section of the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays and during Ramadan, therefore guests can only visit the modern section.
The Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque and New Mosque are closed Friday mornings until 2.30 pm.
The Blue Mosque may be closed to the public during the month of Ramadan. In this case, the excursion will include a visit to another historic Mosque.
The Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets are closed on national holidays and during religious festivities.