Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise and Seven Hills Tour

Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise and Seven Hills Tour, Golden Horn & Balat, Pierre Loti Hill & Cable Car, Byzantian Old City Walls 21 km, Bosphorus Bridge, Camlica Hill of Asia Continent, Bosphorus Boat Cruise up to second bridge and Spice Bazaar.

In the morning at 09:30/10: Am we pick you up from your hotel and drive to Golden Horn (Balat). We take a walk through the hundreds of years old city walls and historical buildings of Balat. After that we continue to Pierre Loti Hill to see beautiful panoramic view of Golden Horn and historical peninsula. We’ll also enjoy the way back down from the hill in a cable car. Afterwards we will drive along the city walls and will climb up to the top of the walls to admire a nice view. Then we will have stop for a local lunch and cross to the Asian Side through the Bosphorus Bridge and drive up to Camlica Hill, which will be an epic experience for you. This will be followed with a lovely cruise on Bosphorus, which will give you a taste of two continents at the same time. After the cruise, our last stop will be at Spice Bazaar. At the end of the tour, return back to hotel at around 18:00.

The details of the sights that you will visit in the tour are as below;

Walking on the Balat Streets: Jewish quarter of Old City Istanbul. Walk trough the historicl buildings, experience the local life of the old Jewish settlement. Another Istanbul neighborhood deeply associated with Jewish settlement is Kuzguncuk on the Asian shore.

Golden Horn: the ancient Greek colonistschose Halic or Golden Horn to be the site for Byzantium. The natural harbor made it convenient for sea traffic-both commercial and martial. It is considered to be world’s largest natural harbor and separates the European shore of Istanbul into two.

Pierre Loti Hill & Cable Car: Pierre Loti is famous hill with a beautiful panaromic view of Golden Horn and the Historical peninsula. You will also enjoy the way back down from the hill in Cable Car. There is a very nice cafe on the top of the hill. The famous cafe entitled with the name of Pierre Loti, a famous French writer, is reached on getting to this ridge on which the perfect view of Golden Horn can be watched. The real name of Pierre Loti, who lived in Istanbul for long years and was a real Istanbul lover, was Julien Viaud.The historical cafe is the most ideal place to watch this mentioned view.

Bosphorus Bridge: It is connecting the European and Asia sides of Istanbul, 1560 meters. The Bosphorus Bridge was the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world. Unique chance to step from one continent to other in 3 mintes. Every October, the annual Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon crosses the bridge on its way from Asia to Europe. During the marathon, the bridge is closed to vehicular traffic. In October, visitors participate in the ‘fun run’ and cross the bridge on foot. Many take picnics to enjoy the view. The bridge was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 1000 lira banknotes of 1978-1986.

Camlica Hill: Camlica Hill has very nice view of the charming Bosphorus and mouth of Golden Horn. There are historical-designed teahouses, and restaurant inside a public park with monumental trees, flower gardens and fountains. Çamlica hill is 268 meters above the sea level. Çamlica Hill is located within the borders of Üsküdar district, on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, near the first suspension bridge. Camlica, a place with two hills overlooking the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea, is one of the most favored promenades in Istanbul, and also one of the highest and most charming places in the city.

Bosphorus Cruise: One of the best way to get a feel for Istanbul is take a cruise on the legendary Bosphorus. The majestic strait that ruins through Istanbul, linking Europe and Asia. From your cruise boat, you can view the dramatic sights lining the Bosphorus’ wooded shores: the Beylerbeyi Palace, the Rumeli Fortress, the Ciragan Palace, The Dolmabahce Palace, the Mainden’s Tower, the 19th century mansions of the Ottaman elite and many more… As part of the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean via Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus has always been of great importance from a commercial and military point of view, and remains strategically important today.

Spice Bazaar: Built in 1660, Spice Bazaar is the place to lay in a fesh supply of spices, nuts, honeycomb, Turkish delights, dried figs, caviar and mature hard Turkish cheese, small gifts and more… Located in the Eminönü quarter of the Old City district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar. There are several documents suggesting the name of the bazaar was first “New Bazaar”. The building was endowed to the foundation of the New Mosque, and got its name “Egyptian Bazaar” (Turkish: Mısır Çarşısı) because it was built with the revenues from the Ottoman eyalet of Egypt in 1660.