Istanbul walking tour through the Old City and the Bazaars

Meet your tour guide at your hotel and visit the most important attractions of the Old City and the Bazaars.Head to the Hippodrome, where the chariot races were held during the Roman Empire. Visit the Blue Mosque, built in the early 1600s for Sultan Ahmet I, it is a truly magnificent masterpiece of architecture with amazingly delicate proportions for a building of such massive scale. Admire the blue shade of the 27.000 pieces of Iznik quartz tiles that give the mosque its popular name and the 6 towering minarets that give it its uniquely recognizable structure. Discover Hagia Sophia where the ancient cultures of East and West meet. Learn about its history from when it was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. Head to the Serefiye Cistern or Theodosius Cistern the second largest water storage unit of the ancient Byzantine city. Explore the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world with over 4,000 shops.Visit the Suleymaniye Mosque, the largest mosque in Istanbul, as impressive on the inside as it is on the outside. In the garden behind the mosque, you will visit a terrace that offers a lovely view of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Take a walk on the streets of Grand Bazaar and Mahmut Pasha Bazaar and enjoy the most colorful streets. Explore Spice Bazaar , which is a colorful indoor bazaar and has lots of shops offering a variety of spices, purses, flavored teas, Turkish delight, nuts, as well as ceramics, and small souvenirs.