2 Days in Istanbul

DAY 1 : HISTORIC CENTER
DAY 2 : BOSPHORUS AND ASIAN SIDE

Egyptian Bazaar : Also known as the Spice Market, the bazaar was a vast pharmacy filled with burlap bags overflowing with herbs and spices fresh off the ships from Egypt and the Spice Islands.

Rüstem Pasha Mosque : Just west of the Egyptian Bazaar, this Sinan masterpiece was built in the early 1560s for Rüstem Pasha, a grand vizier and son-in-law of Süleyman the Magnificent. Though it’s unassuming from the outside, this is one of the most highly ornamented of the Ottoman mosques, and you’re in for a treat when you step into the interior, which is decorated throughout with Iznik tiles in a magnificent array of colors and patterns.

Bosphorus : A geographic and metaphoric melding of East and West, Istanbul is the world’s only city covering two continents — the Bosporus runs through the center, Europe lying to the west, Asia to the east. Along the Bosphorus the strait that lies between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, and separating Europe and Asia, lies a number of palaces of the late Ottoman period, the old wooden summer homes called yalis and parks.

Dolmabahce Palace : Second palace of Sultans built from 1843 to 1856 as a symbol of Turkey’s march toward European-style modernization. An extraordinary mixture of Turkish and European architectural and decorative styles, marble columns with gilt Corinthian capitals, huge mirrors, trompe l’oeil painted ceilings, inlaid parquet floors, rich brocade. Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, spent his last days here, and visitors are shown his deathbed in the Harem; all the clocks in the palace remain permanently stopped at 9:05 am, the hour of his death on November 10, 1938.

Rumeli Hisari (Castle of Europe) : Built on a hill overlooking the water, Rumeli Hisari is the best preserved of all the fortresses on the Bosphorus and well worth a visit. Constructed in just four months in 1452, these eccentric-looking fortifications were ordered built by Mehmet the Conqueror at the narrowest point of the strait. This allowed the Ottomans to take control of the waterway, and Mehmet and his troops conquered Constantinople the following year.

Beylerbeyi Palace : Built as a summer residence for Sultan Abdülaziz in 1865, Beylerbeyi, on the Asian shore, is a bit like a mini-Dolmabahçe that incorporates a similarly eclectic mix of European and Turkish styles but is smaller, less grandiose, and has more of a personal feel. Beylerbeyi boasts ornately painted ceilings, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, gold-topped marble columns, and intricately carved wooden furniture; the central hall has a white-marble fountain and a stairway wide enough for a regiment.

Çamlica Hill : One of the highest hills of Istanbul, Çamlica dominates a great part of the city.

Uskudar : One of the oldest inhabited areas on the Asian shore, Üsküdar takes its name from the 7th-century BC settlement of Scutari, though nothing now remains of that ancient town. Today, Üsküdar is a conservative residential neighborhood with a handful of noteworthy Ottoman mosques.



All tours have been posted by TURSAB(Turkish Society of Travel Agencies) licensed travel agencies and tour operators who have replied to the formal TURSAB call of 08.07.2013 for publishing their tours on this website.

Peninsula Turizm,

Adres: Turgut Özal Bulvarı No:35 Kusadasi Aydin / Turkey

Telephone: +90 256 613 1100

Fax: +90 256 613 1050

Web: http://www.peninsula.com.tr/

E-Mail: info@peninsula.com.tr

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