Meet your guide in front of the World Heritage Center Hotel, Alemdar, Divanyolu Caddesi, Dr. Eminpaşa Sk. No:2, 34110 Fatih/İstanbul, Turkey. Please do not enter the hotel, it is only a meeting point and the staff is not informed about the tour.

Discover the ancient ruins of Constantinople in the Old City (Sultanahmet District). You will see the square where the Hippodrome horse and chariot racing stadium stood, and hear amazing stories about daily life in the capital of the mighty Byzantine Empire before its conquest by the Turks. Istanbul has changed a lot during the Ottoman Empire era.

The guide will tell you how the magnificent Hagia Sophia transformed from a Roman catholic church to a mosque and show you the ruins of ancient temples, fountains and obelisks. You will pass the 16th-century Blue Mosque and the site where the Great Palace of Constantinople stood. Another point of interest will be the impressive ruins of the 5th-century Bucoleon Palace and the Little Hagia Sophia Mosque, which is a former Greek Eastern Orthodox church built in the 6th century. You will feel closer to Constantinople with every step! discover the ancient ruins of Constantinople in the Old City and visit the Hagia Sophia Mosque. Today, this magnificent mosque is one of the most visited attractions in Istanbul, but during the Byzantine Empire it was a Christian cathedral. Inside, your Expert Guide will explain Hagia Sophia’s Christian &Islamic elements and how it has changed during the country’s transformation from the Byzantine Empire, to the Ottoman Empire, to the new Republic of Turkey.

Discover the ancient ruins of Constantinople in the Old City and visit the Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia. This extended tour includes skip-the-line tickets to Basilica Cistern so you will not waste time queueing at the ticket office. Go underground to the largest of the several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the Old City of Istanbul and discover the secrets of Byzantine engineering!