Private Dolmabahce Palace and Bosphorus Tour

After your breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel for your full Day Istanbul Dolmabahce Palace and Bosphorus Strait Tour.

The program includes:

Dolmabahce Palace

The Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) was built by order of Sultan Abdülmecid I between 1843 and 1856. Haci Said Ağa was responsible for the control of the construction works, and the project was realized by Armenian architects Garabed Balyan, his son Nigogos Balyan, and Evanis Kalfa. The construction cost five million Ottoman Mecidiye gold coins, the equivalent of 35 tones of gold. The palace has an area of 45.000 m2 and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths, and 68 toilets.

Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Mosque

The Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Mosque – or Dolmabahçe Mosque as it is commonly known – is located on the Meclisi Mebusan Caddesi in Kabataş, on the shore of the Bosphorus. It was commissioned in 1852 by Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan, the wife of Sultan Mahmud II and the mother of Sultan Abdülhamid. The construction of the mosque was finished in 1853, after Bezm-i Alem Sultan’s death. The mosque’s architect was Nikogos Balyan; its style shows a mixture of 19th century Ottoman and Western styles.

Shopping Opportunity

Turkey is one of the best leather-producing countries in the world. We will watch a fashion show in an outlet center which produces and manufactures different various great quality leatherware. So it’s a good opportunity to have a look at the reasonably priced good quality leather accessories. (Optional due to high traffic jam and long line for the Palace)

Lunch

Old City Walls

Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century.

Drive by Bus to Golden Horn

Golden Horn, an estuary formed by the flooding of valleys of two rivers confluent just northwest of Eyüp by Bosphorus in prehistorical times, had always been Istanbul’s primary harbor. In fact, it can be argued that Istanbul would never have existed in such a grand way if it weren’t for this superb harbor (and also the superb trading route through and across Bosphorus, by the way).

Spice Market

The air inside the Spice Market is filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme, and every other conceivable herb and spice.

Boat on the Bosphorus

An amazing cruise between the two continents, Europe and Asia, along the Bosphorus by the Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi Palaces, wooden villas, and mansions up to the Rumeli Fortress.

Rumeli Fortress (from the sea/outside)

Istanbul had been besieged many times before Mehmet the Conqueror took the city in 1453, but it managed to defend itself with the help of the Roman city walls.

Also, you will see Ciragan Palace, Ortakoy Mosque, Military High School, Bosphorus Bridge, and Beylerbeyi Palace from the sea.

At the end of the tour, our car will leave you in front of your hotel.