“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul...”
Alphonse de Lamartine
Hippodrome
Begin your tour at a giant racetrack – the Hippodrome. Stand where the horses ran, a large open square with a long oval of golden sand, the center of the socio-political world in ancient Byzantium. The historic center of the old city, the stadium held a hundred thousand cheering spectators and its drivers and horses were legendary. A monumental obelisk from Egypt and Apollo’s pillar from Delphi stand at its center.
St Sophia
St. Sophia, one of the most extraordinary buildings in the history of architecture. When a previous church on the site was burned in 532, Justinian ordered to build a structure worthy of his empire. The building inspired countless generations by its colossal definition of what the interior space in a domed basilica was to be and by its innovations in weight-support and construction techniques - and what a dome it was: the popular belief was that; ‘The dome was suspended from Heaven by an invisible golden chain’. In reality it was work of men, but a worldly simulator of the Heavens…
Blue Mosque
Step into the Blue Mosque and you’ll see why it carries the name. Inside are 21.000 shimmering blue tiles broken by 260 stained-glass windows. The light-filled mosque is an elegant tribute to Ottoman genius of the 17th century. With six graceful minarets adorning the imperial building, this masterpiece is one of the city’s most recognized landmarks.
Topkapi Palace
Was the center of Ottoman government and the court, the Turks ruled most of Europe and the Middle East from here. Covering the prime property on the peninsula, the court-defined grounds of the Palace express in the architectural sense the Ottoman ideal of the perfect life balanced between its formative components. Explore breath-taking grounds, domes, porticos, terraces, halls of the Palace.
Grand Bazaar
One of the most dazzling of all the bazaars, the Grand Covered Bazaar; built in 1461, and in service ever since…Along with magnificent mosques and complexes, undoubtedly, the mother of all bazaars was a monument of rise of Istanbul. It contains more than 3.500 shops and employing more than 20.000 people under same roof. Everything imaginable: gold & silver jewels, old & new rugs, antiques, tiles, leather & souvenirs. Just seeing and experiencing her is worth the trip...
