DAY 1 : ARRIVE ISTANBUL

Welcome to Turkey! Upon arrival at İstanbul’s Atatürk International Airport you will be met and privately transferred to your hotel.
Although it is not the capital, İstanbul is the largest city in Turkey as the leading industrial, commercial and cultural center. This is the city that gradually spreads on both sides of the beautiful Bosphorus, which was naturally formed early in the IVth Period of Geology as the sea water occupied the deep and narrow valley. The Bosphorus separates Europe from Asia. It connects the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea. The place where Europe and Asia meet upon the shores of the Bosphorus is one of the most exquisite places in the world. İstanbul has been the capital for three empires and been attractive for its historical treasure besides the beauty of the surrounding landscape. Originally called Byzantium, the city was renamed Constantinople in A.D. 330 by Emperor Constantine, who chose it as the site of the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today, İstanbul is a city whose splendor is marked by ethereal minarets and monumental mosque domes punctuated by such signs of modern society as suspension bridges, high-rise buildings and cellular phones.

DAY 2: ISTANBUL

This morning your private guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby before beginning your full day city tour of İstanbul. First you will visit the Hagia Sophia, which is considered as one of the eight wonders of the world, occupying a prominent place in the history of art and architecture. It is one of the rare works of this size and age that has survived to our day. The Church (called Ayasofya in Turkish) is erroneously known as Saint Sophia in the west. The basilica was not dedicated to a saint named Sophia, but to Divine Wisdom. Entrance to the Galleries is included.
The next stop is the Hippodrome. The first of the seven hills on the promontory has been the most important and dynamic part of the city in all ages. When the city was first founded, the acropolis was a typical Mediterranean trading center surrounded by city walls. Hippodrome means square for horses. The Hippodrome was built by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus towards the end of the 2nd century and it was extended to an immense size by Constantine the Great.
You will then visit the Blue Mosque. One of the most famous monuments of Turkish and Islamic art, the Mosque is visited by all who come to İstanbul and gains their admiration. This imperial mosque is an example of classical Turkish architecture, and it is the only Mosque that was originally built with six minarets.
After lunch in a local restaurant you will visit Topkapı Palace. Topkapı is the largest and oldest palace in the world to survive to our day. In 1924 it was turned into a museum at Atatürk’s request. Situated on the acropolis, the site of the first settlement in İstanbul, it commands an impressive view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace is a complex surrounded by five kilometers of walls and occupies an area of 700,000 square meters at the tip of the historical peninsula. Entrance fees at the Harem are included.

DAY 3 : ISTANBUL

This morning you will visit the Underground Cistern (The Basilica Cistern). This cistern is thought to have been built after the Nika Revolt in 532 AD. It was known as the Basilica Cistern during the Roman Period, as there was a Stoa Basilica above the pre-existing one at the time. After the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks, it was forgotten of and nobody knew that it existed. Re-discovered in 1545, it was used to water the gardens of Topkapı Palace. Today it has a rather eerie and mystical ambiance. Clever spotlighting makes the water shimmer with colored dancing lights and the water ripples from an occasional fish swishing its tail in exuberance.
Continue on to the İbrahim Paşa Palace (Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum). The Palace of İbrahim Paşa (16th century), situated on the west side of Sultan Ahmet Square, now functions as the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. It is the only extant private palace, except for the imperial palaces. The building, elevated on arches, surrounds three sides of a central courtyard. A staircase leads from the terrace to the first section of the museum.
Then you will take a ferry ride to reach The Princes’ Islands.
The Princes’ Islands (Kızıl Adalar or just Adalar) are a chain of nine rather small islands in the Sea of Marmara. They evolved from a place of exile during the Byzantine era, to a popular destination for tourists and Istanbulites alike to escape the hectic city life for a day. Of those nine islands, only four of them are open to the public: Büyükada, the biggest and most popular, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Kınalıada. The main feature of any of the Princes’ Islands is the sound of … silence. All motorized vehicles are banned, making the islands an oasis of peace and quiet. The only sounds you’ll hear are bicycle bells and the typical sounds of horse hoofs. Horse-drawn carriages and bicycles are the main transportation means on the islands.
But that’s not the only feature that makes the Princes’ Islands unique. You’ll find yourself walking or riding through narrow streets flanked by either untouched pine-forests or fine, wooden Victorian cottages. Your tour includes fresh sea food lunch in one of the Big Island Fish Restaurant and a tour of the Island with Horse-drawn carriages. Late afternoon take to ferry to return back to Istanbul and overnight at your Hotel.

DAY 4 : ISTANBUL

After breakfast visit the Egyptian Bazaar. The Egyptian Bazaar is famous for selling the best spices in İstanbul and Turkey. If you have enough time in İstanbul and like to cook different things you must visit the Egyptian Bazaar. In the Bazaar you will find an immense selection of spices like saffron, oregano, mint, cinnamon, natural henna colorant for the hair, special Turkish spices for meat, and different kinds of pepper.
You then board your cruise for a sightseeing tour of the Bosphorus where you will view the beauty of the European and Asian shorelines on either side. Head up Istanbul’s winding straits for a chance to relax and admire the shoreline of beautiful mosques, lavish palaces and decadent villas. You will see the Ortaköy Mosque, the defensive Rumeli Fortress and Bosphorus Bridge – one of the world’s largest suspension bridges, all alongside passing fishing boats, yachts, huge cargo ships and tankers. Please note that while other people will be on the cruise, your private guide will accompany you.
Lunch in a local restaurant then you will visit Dolmabahce Palace. The Dolmabahce Palace, built in 19th century, is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world. It was the administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire with the last of Ottoman Sultans was residing there. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic in Ankara, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk transferred all government functions to the youthful capital but on his visits to İstanbul Atatürk occupied only a small room at Dolmabahce Palace as his own. He stayed, welcomed his foreign guests and made a practical center for national, historical and language congress and for international conferences.

You will have time to stop by a nice place for coffee/snacks on the grounds of Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus.

You will then proceed to İstanbul’s Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi, in Turkish, or Covered Market). The Grand Bazaar is Turkey’s largest covered market offering excellent shopping including beautiful Turkish carpets, glazed tiles and pottery, copper and brassware, apparel made of leather, cotton and wool, meerschaum pipes, alabaster bookends and ashtrays, and all sorts of other things.(B,L)

DAY 5 : ISTANBUL / DEPART

This morning you will be privately transferred to the airport where you will board your return flight .

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.

Venüs Turizm,

1374 Sokak No: 4/203 MAB İşhanı Çankaya İzmir 
Phone: +902324848485 
Fax: +902324845576 
info@venus-tourism.com
http://www.venus-tourism.com/