TOUR IH09: ISTANBUL: CITY ON THE BOSPHORUS
Thursdays from April 14 to October 20, 2011

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Stay- A- While: City Stopover: 7 Days, 6 Nights
One stop tour! One hotel in central Istanbul for 6 nights

 

 

 

Istanbul is a city of some 9 million people and straddles Asian and European Turkey. Slender minarets pierce the skyline; a maze of narrow streets crisscross the Old Bazaar Quarter; architectural gems such as the Topkaki Palace and the famous Blue Mosque reflect the once powerful Ottoman Empire; numerous historical monuments reflect Constantine’s “New Rome” and the days of the Bysantine Empire. This land of the Crusades and the home of Suleyman the Magnificent offers much to the modern day traveler. Whether your interest lies in its Mosques & Churches; its Palaces & Museums; its modern restaurants and hotels; its frenetic commerce centres; or the famous “Whirling Dervishes”; you will marvel at Istanbul’s attractions. Celebrated visitors and residents who have arrived before you include: Lord Byron, Agatha Christie, Ernest Hemingway, Kaiser Wilhelm II and of course, Florence Nightingale

 

 





DAY 1: Arrival in Istanbul. Meet and greet and transfer to your central city hotel. You will then have free time to settle in and explore the local atmosphere from your hotel on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Evening: Free.
Meals: Dinner

DAY 2: You will set off for an exciting city tour  to see several of the city’s major attractions. First visit is to Sultanahmet Square and the site of  the Hippodrome which once formed the stage for the city’s entertainment and chariot races. Within waking distance is the amazing 17th century Blue Mosque with its six towering minarets; the “Church of Holy Wisdom” or  Haghia Sophia; and the cavernous Basilica Cistern one of the city’s most unusual places to visit. Next you will visit the Topkapi Palace complex, former home of many of Turkey’s Sultans. But before your visit commences you will stop for lunch  in the Palace’s Konyah Restaurant. To round off your first day in Istanbul you will visit its famous Grand Bazaar where you can truly shop till you drop in a labyrinthine maze of booths, narrow laneways and 4,000 shops! Evening: Free.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 3: Breakfast at your hotel is followed by a relaxing full day’s cruise of the Bosphorus Waterway which links the Sea of Mamara to the Black Sea. This leisurely trip will take you past magnificent palaces, 19th century villas and mosques until you reach Anadolu Kavagi for lunch. This evening you will have dinner in a city restaurant with entertainment. Evening: Dinner and entertainment.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

DAY 4: Today, there will be a later start after breakfast we will set off to visit the Sulemaniye Mosque built in the 16th century Ottoman style. You will walk to the nearby New Mosque complex and call in at the Spice Bazaar. For lunch we will search for an informal kebab house, a fish restaurant or one of the many meyhanes (taverns) which abound and provide local Turkish music to accompany your light snack. After lunch on the way back to our hotel you will visit the Dolmabahce Palace, an opulent extravaganza built in 1856 as a home for the Sultans. The state rooms, ceremonial hall with its crystal balustrades and the Harem quarters are impressive. An Imperial Holidays special for this tour is to see the “Whirling Dervishes” perform their ritual dance at Mevlevi Monastery. Evening: free.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

 

DAY 5: This morning is free for you to rest, explore or shop. After lunch you will board a local ferry service to explore Prince’s Islands. There are nine islands about 12 kms from Istanbul, but you will head for the largest known as Buyukada. It has beautiful sandy beaches and many fine mansions (one the former place of exile for Leon Trotsky). But an elegant touch is that there are really no cars and you will travel by horse-drawn carriages just as they did in the 19th century. This is a very relaxing atmosphere for you to enjoy time in a different part of Istanbul. Tonight there will be a farewell dinner at one of the city’s gourmet restaurants.
Evening: Farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

DAY 6:  For the last full day of the tour there is a trip to the city’s Asian side to visit Selimiye Barracks, used as a military hospital during the Crimean War, where you will see the Florence Nightingale Museum, the Selimiye Mosque and the British War Cemetery. It is then just a short distance to Bagdat Caddesi, one of Istanbul’s best shopping streets. Evening: A farewell dinner and show at Galata Tower.
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

DAY 7: After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your onward journey.

 

 

 

Prices: from $5.983 per person twin share
Single: from: $ 8,176

 

 

Features of this Holiday

Five days, 6 nights central accommodation in Istanbul
Most meals as per the itinerary
Evening entertainment
Free time and a measured pace
Visit all of the city’s major tourist attractions
The Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace,
Grand Bazaar,  Waterway cruises
Transfers, guide and driver
Flexibility – can be taken as a city stopover
OR, as part of other Imperial Holidays programs