Starting with famos Spice Market then take the ferry to ride on Bosphorus for 1.5 hours sail between 2 continents. Discover where Asia and Europe meet as you cruise past Ottoman palaces, wooden mansions, and modern villas. Finish the cruise and take lunch at top of the hotel in Old City. You will take your lunch with St. Sophia and partial Bosphorus view.
After lunch we will drive long to Bosphorus Bridge for the Beylerbeyi Palace visit then Camlica Hill. You can get your cup of coffe or Turkish Tea with the amazing view of Bosphorus.
Highlights:
- Taste some spices on Spice Market
- Cruise between Asia & Europe
- Bosphoru Cruise
- Beylerbeyi Palace
- Camlica Hill
Spice Bazaar Located just behind the Yeni Mosque in Eminonu, the Spice Bazaar was built in 1660 by the architect Kazim Aga at the behest of Sultan Turhan. It gains its Turkish name, Misir Carsisi (Egyptian Bazaar), from the fact that it once received income from taxes levied on Egypt. The English name hails from the days when the Bazaar specialized in the sale of herbs and spices, medicinal plants, and drugs. While the color and aroma pervading the covered hallway may since have faded to some extent, a small number of shops do still stock the traditional products. In addition, you will find sacks and shelves groaning with dried fruits and nuts, teas and infusions, oils and essences, sweetmeats, honeycombs and aphrodisiacs.
Bosphorus Cruise (aprox. 1hr 30 min. on the boat) Passing through palaces of Ottoman, Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi, ancient wooden houses, modern villas to the opening of the Black Sea. Rumeli Fortress comes next. Situated on the Tracean side of the Istanbul Bosphorus, it was built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in1452 to prevent from north reaching Byzantine. The Bosphorus is approximately 30 km long, and at its narrowest point the Anadolu and Rumeli fortresses face each other across it. Here the width of the strait is about 800 meters. On the surface, the Bosphorus flows like a river from the Black Sea to the Marmara. This current gets much stronger and becomes truly dangerous around the fortresses. Below the surface current, there is another current flowing in the opposite direction. These currents have always constituted a threat for the ships crossing the strait. The Bosphorus is like a narrow valley and it has an average depth of 50 and a maximum depth of 110 meters. Because of the currents and the different temperatures on various levels, the Bosphorus is a paradise for fish. The fish migrate between the Black Sea and the Marmara according to the season. These fish, peculiar to these waters, are caught during the migration seasons. Nowhere else can one find such fine-tasting fish. Until recent times, the settlements along the Bosphorus were quite limited due to the strong currents and the lack of roads. They consisted of a few villages, some imperial palaces and the mansions of the wealthy. In the 19th century the embassies started to build their summer residences here. Today the shores and the hills are developing as residential districts. There are numerous fish restaurants and cafes on both sides of the Bosphorus. Modern villas intermingle with the relatively few old wooden seaside mansions that have been preserved. One of the most beautiful sights in the world, the Bosphorus is a strait winding between two continents and joining two seas. The Black Sea is connected to the Aegean through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. It offers a different beauty each season, and in spring it is adorned with the pink flowers of the Judas trees.
Camlica Hill On the Asian shores of the Bosphorus there lies a high pine covered bill, atop which sits a restaurant. From here one can inhale the fresh Black Sea air, and possibly obtain the best views of the sprawling metropolis of Istanbul. The best time for pictures with clarity is in the morning, but late afternoon offers glimpses on the city's skyline silhouetted against the setting sun while night fall ushers in an impressive portrait of Istanbul as a city of twinkling lights.
Beylerbeyi Palace Situated along the banks of the Asian side of the Bosphorus in the district of Beylerbeyi, this palace complex consists of the main palace building plus five pavilions (Kösk). The architect Sarkis Balyan, the brother ol ilit architects responsible for the Dolmabahce Palace, built this modern palace for Sultan Abdulaziz in 1861-65. Similar in style to the Dolmabahce Palace, this sumptuously furnished residence built of white marble served mainly as a summer house and lodging for visiting royalty from abroad.
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