Have you done all these sites in Istanbul in one day?

[sylai]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone has done Topkapi Palace with Harem, Santa Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, and Yerebatan Cistern in Istanbul all in one day while the ship is in port. (Our ship will be in port 8-6). Grand Bazaar is not important for us, as we are not into shopping, just for the atmosphere of it. Appreciate any experience of your one-day itinerary.

[cruisemom42]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone has done Topkapi Palace with Harem, Santa Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, and Yerebatan Cistern in Istanbul all in one day while the ship is in port. (Our ship will be in port 8-6). Grand Bazaar is not important for us, as we are not into shopping, just for the atmosphere of it. Appreciate any experience of your one-day itinerary.

 

We did all of the above minus the Cistern but plus the Islamic Arts Museum and the Grand Bazaar on a shore excursion on our Princess cruise, so it can definitely be done. Not sure exactly what questions you have about it?

[HawkeyeCruisr]

We did everything except the Grand Bazaar in one day between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm, plus had lunch. We had a guide (Kagan) and this itinerary is his walking tour of the Sultanahmet district. We did everything at a pretty leisurely pace and Kagan was doing a lot of explaining along the way so we were taking more time than we would have if we'd been without a guide. With a faster pace, you might be able to work in the Grand Bazaar.

 

Be sure to stop at an ATM and get some Turkish lira. Most of these sites require ticket purchases and will accept only TRY. Typically, it's 10 lira per person.

[jaspeada]

We did all in a day easily. All but the Grand Bazaar are very close together so there is very little travel time. We did take a cab to Bazaar area. If you end up with an hour or two at the end of the day, you will never forget the experience of a Turkish bath!

[martyap]

We have used Lale and Kagan Kosagan in the past and they are very good guides. They are passionate about their beautiful country. For one day it would be worth the $$$ to have them take you on a walking tour to cover most of the sites you mentioned. The Grand Bazaar is enormous and you would need several hours to do it justice. You might consider the Egyptian Spice Market instead.....30-60 minutes is fine.

 

If you were spending more time in Istanbul there are other things to do on your own. You can walk from Sultanahmet (or take the tram) over the Galata Bridge. Take the tunel (one stop subway) to the start of the pedestrian street (Istiklal Cadessi) all the way up to Taksim Square. Lots to see/do/shop/eat........Marty

[joek]

We just returned from a Rotterdam cruise, docked in Istanbul for an afternoon and following day. We used Gulgun Asutay (guidegulgun@hotmail.com) for an evening tour and an all day tour. She is extremely knowledgeable, pleasant and capable, and will surely get you to everything you want. Tell her Esther and Joe send regards.

 

Joe Kluepfel

[cusyl]

Our Princess tour took us to the Palace, Sophia Hagis, and Blue Mosque. Some from the tour walked from there to the Grand Bazaar instead of returning to the ship.

[banditoo]

It is very easy to do them all in one day, either through organized tour, private taxi /guide booked on the spot at the port or by self guided tour. Within a 10 minute walk of the port, you cross the bridge over the Bosphorous and the spice market (mini version of the grand bazaar is right there; you can smell the beautiful spices form the pier), then just up the hill are the other sites. We did not pre book anything and then as we left the ship, we ran into another couple on the curb who were looking to arrange something privately so we hired one of the many taxi/guides there at the port (spoke excellent English and was very friendly and informative). As it was a few years ago, I can't remember the exact price but we all felt like we had such a deal for the few hours we used him (something like 10 dollars if I remember correctly). He took us to the Grand Bazaar as it was furthest away and as we went by the other sites, we landmarked them so we could return on our own which we did by walking from the ship and back. For those who do not enjoy the experience of walking and taking in the street culture, you can take a taxi for a few minute ride to the main sites form the ship. I loved Istanbul and the wandering around on our own allowed us to really observe the mix of wonderful cultures so evident.

[CoralReef]

We did Haghia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, and Yerebatan Cistern in one afternoon/evening (our ship docked at 1 PM)-- plus a leisurely dinner, a Sufi music concert, and lots of walking around. Then did Topkapi Palace + Harem the next morning (and were back in plenty of time for 2 PM disembarkation). So yes, I think you could certainly do all those sites in one day, if you have a good plan and don't mind a long day of sightseeing.

 

I would leave the Grand Bazaar for last. First, because it's on the way back to the ship; second, because it will eat up as much time as you let it; and third, because it's an incredible sight but really just shopping, not a famous monument. Since it's not all that important to you, that would be the site to skip if you run short on time. Be aware that it is closed on Sunday.

 

I would do Topkapi first, since it got more crowded (longer lines) as the day went on. It opened at 9:00, which gives you about enough time to get off the ship and into town. Keep moving, though, since there's a lot to see there!

 

Check http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php?country=Turkey for prayer times so you can avoid them when scheduling your Blue Mosque visit. Check a few weeks before your trip, since times change seasonally. Prayer time lasts at least 30 minutes, and during this time you cannot enter the mosque.

 

The Lonely Planet Istanbul City Guide is a good reference for the kind of day you're planning.

[wwinfl91]

Hi,

 

My wife and I did the Topkapi Palace with Harem, Santa Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, and Yerebatan Cistern in Istanbul all in one day with a private guide and 6 other people when we visited Istanbul in 2003. Here is my write up of our experience.

 

The next morning we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey for visits to the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. We again got up early, 6:30 AM or so, to be able to have time to go up and get some breakfast before meeting for our tour. This was going to be another independent tour with our six partners from the tours in Monaco, Florence and Naples. The tour was a full day spent mainly in the historic old section of Istanbul. Istanbul was originally called Byzantine and was originally settled by the ancient Greeks. The Romans conquered the city and it was later renamed Constantinople when it served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. That city was finally conquered by the Turks in 1453 and renamed Istanbul. It was one of those places I had read about as a kid and had always wanted to visit. The siege of Constantinople by the Turks and its eventual fall are one of those moments in history that have already held my interest so this visit was one of the high points of the cruise for me. Trisha wasn’t quite as excited about Istanbul but she put up with my enthusiasm.

 

We met with the other couples on the dock and found our guide near the entrance to the cruise dock. His name was Mehmet and again he spoke perfect English. I will admit that one thing this cruise made me very aware of was that my ability to only speak English is not something I should be proud of. I met too many people who spoke their own language and also spoke English. Mehmet led us a new air-conditioned van that would take us into the city itself. The ship was docked on the north side of the Golden Horn, which is a large bay that divided old Istanbul from the newer sections of the city. As we drove Mehmet explained we would shortly be crossing a bridge over the Golden Horn and be entering the old section of Istanbul. The bridge allowed us to get a view of the old section of the city and many mosques that the city has. We were on our way to the area that during the Eastern Roman empire period was called the Hippodrome, which was a chariot and horse racing arena. Nothing remains of the arena except 3 columns that were in the center of the original arena area. When we arrived Mehmet told us we should take most of our belongings with us since we wouldn’t see the van again until we were ready to go back to the ship late in the afternoon.

 

After exiting the van, we noticed that we were in a large oval shaped area that had 3 large columns. This was where the Hippodrome, which held up to 100,000 people, once stood. The 3 columns were all brought there from other places. One was an Egyptian Obelisk from the Temple of Karnak. Another was the Serpentine Column from Apollo’s temple in Delphi. Another had originally been in the forum in Rome. The Venetians took the bronze team of horses that used to stand by the entrance of the Hippodrome when they sacked the city in 1204 and they now reside in Church of San Marco in Venice, which was to be our next stop. After taking a few pictures of the columns, we followed the guide out of the square and walked towards our next destination, the Blue Mosque.

 

The Blue Mosque was built to rival the city’s other large church, Santa Sofia. The mosque has 6 minarets and numerous domes. It was built on the site of the old imperial palace. It gets its name from the 20,000+ blue tiles used to cover its interior surfaces. The 216 stained glass windows illuminate the interior with a variety of patterns of light. The mosque was completed in the 1600’s and remains one of the largest mosques in the world. Before entering the mosque you are required to take off your shoes and any head covering and must have clothes that cover your knees and shoulders. There is also a place where you are encouraged to wash your hands and face. Once inside you were allowed to take pictures as long as you didn’t use a flash. It is quite a building. The Muslim religion doesn’t allow pictures of animals or people so all the decorations are geometric designs and there are a lot of them. There were enormous chandeliers that once contained candles and now have light bulbs in them. The Blue Mosque serves an active religious community and many of the people visiting the day we were there were Muslims who were visiting it as a religious shine. After leaving the building you could take your shoes out of the plastic shopping bag you had been given for them and put them back on. The CD has pictures of both the exterior and interior of the Blue Mosque but I’m not sure any of them do it justice.

 

Our next stop was the Byzantine Underground cistern. This was a very large underground cistern that had been constructed in the 6th century AD to provide a backup supply of water for the city. It was used in scenes of an old James Bond movie. There are 336 columns, gathered from all over the ancient world, used to support the ceiling. The temperature after you descended down the staircase had to be 20 degrees cooler than on the street. The cisterns were still used up until the 1800’s. When the first tourists visited it, they did so in boats. Now the Turks keep a shallow amount of water in the cisterns to give people the idea of what it once was used for. There are walkways to walk around and view the columns. We got pictures of several columns from a temple where the early Christians who built the cisterns deliberately put in the goddess’s head upside down to show a lack of respect. The climb out of the other side of the cistern brought us back into the street and we continued on to our next destination, St Sophia.

 

This St. Sophia was built on the foundations of two earlier cathedrals of the same name that had been destroyed by fires. St. Sophia is also known by another name, Hagia Sophia. 10,000 men, working for six years, at the orders of Emperor Justian, completed it. The basic design of the church is a Greek cross inside a square topped with a huge dome. After the Turks conquered Constantinople, they converted the church into a mosque by adding minarets and whitewashing over the many religious mosaics and frescos. This action allowed many to be recovered once the Turkish revolution overthrew the sultan and turned Turkey into a secular state. St. Sophia is now a national museum and no longer acts as either a church or a mosque. The interior includes marble and columns that were “looted” from ancient temples all over the eastern Roman Empire. Several of the columns that support the main dome are said to have come from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. No expense was spared in the extensive mosaic and fresco work that cover the walls, floors and ceilings of the building. The CD has pictures of both the interior and exterior of this monumental building. This was another place that you could take pictures but couldn’t use a flash. Standing in the center of the church and looking up at the height of the dome was an amazing experience especially when you realized that this was all completed 1500 years ago. There are a couple of pictures of Trisha and Val standing at a spot on the balcony that was where tradition has it that the Empress would stand during services that is known as the “empress’s spot”. We climbed the stairs to get to the first balcony that it is probably 30 feet or so above the main floor. The marble stairs had been worn down over the years, which made the climb a little harder than it would have been normally. The church has numerous stained glass windows to provide interior illumination as well as several enormous chandeliers, including one that had to be 50 foot in diameter. The whole structure is always undergoing restoration and there was enormous scaffolding sitting in the middle of the main dome area. According to our guide, it had been at least 5 years. It is expected to take at least ten more years to finish this project, which is longer than it took to build the entire building from scratch. They were working on uncovering and restoring some of the ceiling mosaics and frescos. There is also a column where there is a small hole that was associated with one of the saints that legend said if you put your finger in the hole and made your wish, it would come true. We all had to try that but my pictures of that didn’t come out so you will just have to take my word for it. The whole effect of this great building was one of awe and appreciation for the ancient people who built it to last and to the people who continue to work to preserve it for future generations. This is a feeling I have had several places we have visited on this trip. Leaving St Sophia, we walked towards our next objective, which was the Topkapi Palace.

 

The Topkapi Palace was the home of the Turkish sultans for almost 400 years. It was built after their conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The name means “common gate” in Turkish. The Palace was surrounded by walls and consisted of four different walled compounds. As you went from the outer and more public compound to the final inside compound that contains the actual residence of the sultan and his harem, the access to outsiders was more and more restricted. The Palace is now a national museum although many of the valuable relics and treasures were already there as processions of the sultan. There are religious relics such as the sword of Mohammad and some hairs from his beard as well as some of the earliest copies of the Koran known to exist. There is also a great collection of valuable jewels including an 86-carat diamond known as the Topkapi diamond. It looked big enough to choke a horse. There was a museum with weapons from Turkish history including swords, armor and firearms. By the time we had seen the museum, it was approaching 1 PM and we were all getting a little hungry. The guide had left us to see about getting us lunch reservations at a restaurant right on the grounds of the Palace. He returned to tell us we would be eating at the Konyali restaurant at 1:30 and we had a little time to visit the facilities and then meet him at the entrance to the restaurant, which is on the harbor side of the Palace. We were able to get pictures from its terrace of both the Asiatic side and the Golden Horn. We ate in a large exterior area covered with a cloth roof for shade and with many ceiling fans to keep the breeze going. The food was “typical” Turkish food and was very good. We were able to try out Turkish beer with our meal, which reminded me of Budweiser. After eating our fill, we left the restaurant to return to tour one of the most interesting area of the Palace, the royal residence area and the Harem. These areas of the Palace were extensively decorated with elaborate tile walls, floors and ceilings. One interesting feature in this area was the living area for the sultan’s mother. It almost rivaled the Sultan’s own living area in size and magnificence. It also sat between the Harem and the Sultan’s quarters, which was an interesting position for it to be in. These were the last areas of the Palace we visited although we walked back out through the Palace as we were leaving and got a few more pictures for the CD.

 

Our last stop on our Istanbul tour was the Grand Bazaar. To get there we boarded the van again and took a short trip through the city. The guide had the driver drop us off at one of the main entrances to the Bazaar and told us we would have 45 minutes to do our sightseeing and shopping here. The Grand Bazaar or as it is known in Turkish, the Kapali Carsi, was originally built in the 1450’s after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople. It is the largest covered market in the world consisting of over 65 winding streets that are home to over 4000 shops selling everything from souvenirs to appliances and everything in-between. There are cafes, restaurants, a mosque, a post office, banks and a police station. We split into two groups here as Trisha and I and one other couple wandered down one of the main streets just looking around and the other two couples started doing some shopping for some specific items. It was quite a place. The streets seemed to hold similar kinds of stores. The one we were on had mainly jewelry and souvenir stores. We went off it and found another street that had mainly Turkish rugs and other fabric items. Still another had electronic goods of all sorts. After buying a few souvenirs, we walked back to the side where we had entered the Bazaar. There we met up with the other two couples and in a few of minutes our guide showed up and led us back to our van. It was approaching 4:30 in the afternoon and all of us were ready for some air-conditioning and some cool refreshments on the ship.

 

All in all the tour was well worth the money and we managed to see six of the major tourist destinations in Istanbul in one day. The guide, Mehmet, did an excellent job and received a well-deserved tip in addition to the arranged fees. But it was good to get back to the air-conditioned comfort of the ship and to be able to take a shower and rest a little before dinner. We did take a few minutes to head up on deck as the ship sailed out and take some pictures of our departure. We were able to get pictures of old areas of Istanbul where we had spent most of the day.

 

Anyway as you can read it is possible to do.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[neil5054]

I would also be in Istanbul in August and want to do very similar sites. If I end up at the Grand Bazaar to head back to the ship via Egyptian Bazaar, is the tram between the two Bazaar's quick or can it be walked? Sounds like we can walk back to the ship from the Egyptian Bazaar

[mxe]

I would also be in Istanbul in August and want to do very similar sites. If I end up at the Grand Bazaar to head back to the ship via Egyptian Bazaar, is the tram between the two Bazaar's quick or can it be walked? Sounds like we can walk back to the ship from the Egyptian Bazaar

 

If you'd like to do more shopping, then I'd walk between the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market (Egyptian Bazaar). There's many shops between the two bazaars. The walk is probably 20-25 minutes or so, as it gets quite crowded with shoppers. It is possible to walk from the Spice Market back to the ship via the Galata Bridge. Although you may be quite tired at that point, and it's not a short walk. In that case, you may want a taxi instead.

[sylai]

Thank you for all your replies with your own tour experiences. I've got couple online tour itineraries for DIY with all the sites. But then since I will be dragging my 3rd-grader, I feel less and less adventurous the more I think about DIY. Even though I've put together sights notes already, I feel it is so likely I will miss something important as I am seeing those for the first time and I am having a young one with me. OTOH, the set tour itineraries out there all seemed not to include Yerebatan Cistern, and definitely not to include Harem, given a separate entrance fee and set tour schedule at the Palace. So I am torn between DIY and taking a tour, both of which seem a possibility of missing something.