People in Turkey call the sky the 'skydome,' so you will start your tour under the enormous dome there has ever been. You will explore the city's topography by walking under the skydome at Augustus Forum on the acropolis of Byzantium/Constantinople. Each step will unveil the secrets of urbanization in Istanbul during the last 2500 years. Then you will enter Hagia Sophia, once the world's largest cathedral with the highest dome for a millennium, now a mosque.
You will then stroll through the Grand Bazaar, where domes cover interlocked streets of shops and marvels. You can hunt for information from the masters of traditional handicrafts, or hunt for anecdotes & stories that bring the city alive from shopkeepers, and eventually hunt for bargains, purchasing souvenirs. You will visit Süleymaniye, the imperial mosque built by Sinan, the architect with its second highest dome in Istanbul, the Ottoman capital's most prominent Islamic worship building.
Pickup included
Under the highest dome for a millennium Hagia Sophia (/ˈhɑːɡiə soʊˈfiːə/; from Koinē Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, romanized: Hagía Sophía; Latin: Sancta Sophia, lit. 'Holy Wisdom'), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Camii Şerifi)[2] and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia,[3] is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city's Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque.
Under the largest dome in Istanbul The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii, pronounced [sylejˈmaːnije]) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557. Behind the qibla wall of the mosque is an enclosure containing the separate octagonal mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana). For 462 years, the Süleymaniye Mosque was the largest mosque in the city, until it was surpassed by the Çamlıca Mosque in 2019.
Under Domes & Around Marvels The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning ‘Covered Market’; also Büyük Çarşı, meaning ‘Grand Market’) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.
Choose to be picked up from a list of locations
Please arrive at the pick up point 60 minutes before departure time.
Please be informed kindly that you are required to contact your agency, Travelium, at least 24 hours in advance in order to confirm excursion. If you have book this activity less than 24 hours prior to the scheduled time, please contact us immediately after booking to confirm your excursion. Please bear in mind, you will be asked to present your printed voucher and photo ID when you meet with your guide.