Private Tour in Istanbul Great Domes

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Under the highest dome for a millennium Hagia Sophia (/ˈhɑːɡiə soʊˈfiːə/; from Koinē Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, romanized: Hagía Sophía; Latin: Sancta Sophia, lit. 'Holy Wisdom'), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ayasofya-i Kebir Camii Şerifi)[2] and formerly the Church of Hagia Sophia,[3] is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul. Built in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city's Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935 the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque.

   2 h

2. Under the largest dome in Istanbul The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii, pronounced [sylejˈmaːnije]) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557. Behind the qibla wall of the mosque is an enclosure containing the separate octagonal mausoleums of Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana). For 462 years, the Süleymaniye Mosque was the largest mosque in the city, until it was surpassed by the Çamlıca Mosque in 2019.

   2 h

3. Under Domes & Around Marvels The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning ‘Covered Market’; also Büyük Çarşı, meaning ‘Grand Market’) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.

   2 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 1 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Istanbul

• Its from-price is close to the median of the 3649 experiences we list in Istanbul.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 1995 of 3649.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Istanbul

Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus, with Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, busy bazaars and ferries crossing between continents.

The historic peninsula holds the greatest landmarks. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome face each other in Sultanahmet, the Basilica Cistern lies beneath the streets, and Topkapı Palace spreads across the hill above the Golden Horn. A short walk away, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar have traded for centuries, and Süleymaniye Mosque, built by the great Ottoman architect Sinan, crowns one of the city's seven hills.

Top-ranked sights in Istanbul: Dolmabahce Palace (Dolmabahce Sarayi), Bosphorus, Bosphorus Bridge (Bogazici Koprusu).

See all 3649 experiences in Istanbul