Kervansaray Tour with Gulet

Arrival in Istanbul and transfer to the selected hotel. Overnight stay

Culture

80%

History

90%

Adventure

30%

Food

20%

Breakfast and departure for the half-day tour of "BYZANTINE" Istanbul: We will begin with a visit to the Süleymaniye Mosque, considered the most beautiful of Istanbul's imperial mosques, built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the chief architect of the Ottoman golden age. We will continue with the ancient walls of Constantinople, now known as the Mevlana Gate, built by Emperor Theodosius II in the year 413. These walls, several stories high and 6–7 meters thick, protected the city from attacks by Gothic, Bulgarian, Russian, Arab, and Turkish peoples. The walls were breached only on two occasions: by the Crusaders in 1204 and by Mehmet "The Conqueror" in 1453.

Next, we will visit the Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae (Vlacherna), a site not far from Constantinople, which dates back to the second half of the 9th century and is located in a place that for centuries was considered one of the main sanctuaries of Christianity. Built near a spring believed to be sacred, Saint Mary of Blachernae was gradually expanded by emperors, eventually becoming a complex of three buildings: the Church of Saint Mary, which housed the icon of the Virgin Blachernitissa; the Hagia Soros, which preserved the veil of the Virgin and the Mandylion, a cloth bearing the image of Jesus' face, considered miraculous; the Hagion Lousma, a pool where the Byzantine emperor would immerse himself three times in the holy waters every August 15th.

The visit ends in Eminönü, once the main entrance to the city, now a very lively area as it is home to the "Egyptian Market," also known as the "Spice Bazaar."
Free afternoon to explore the city, or you may take part in the optional “Bosphorus” excursion offered by our guide.
Overnight stay.