Day 1: Our hotel is about 30 minutes from Istanbul’s Ataturk airport in the heart of the old city. Welcome drink and dinner.
Day 2: We begin our historic journey with a stroll around some of the key sites of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. We visit the extraordinary column filled underground cistern, the Yerebatan Sarayi, the Hippodrome, the Archaeological Museum, and the beautiful church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus, the prototype of the great Haghia Sophia.
Day 3: We head out onto the water on a private boat and cruise up the Bosphorus, the vital water way separating Europe and Asia, and linking the Black Sea with the Mediterranean, which gave Byzantium its strategic significance. We visit Rumeli Hisar, the impressive Ottoman fortification built by Mehmet the Conqueror during his siege of Constantinople and the beautiful Sadberk Hanim
Museum, a private cultural gem.
Day 4: We head out to the walls of Constantinople, the mighty fortifications that kept besiegers at bay for centuries. We explore the beautiful little church of St. Saviour in Chora, housing some
of the world’s finest Byzantine mosaics, and conclude with the Haghia Sophia itself, the greatest church in Christendom for almost a thousand years and one of the most spectacular buildings ever
created.
Day 5: A free day to explore.
Day 6: We delve into Istanbul’s rich Ottoman legacy, walking around some of the city’s finest sights, including the great mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, the elegant Rustem Pasha Camii, and the lively streets and market areas between the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar.
Day 7: Our historic odyssey concludes as we discover some of the city’s best known and loved highlights. We visit Topkapı Palace, seat of the Sultans, their family and harem for centuries and the majestic Blue Mosque, built to rival the Haghia Sophia, still a place of worship whose six minarets shine silver in the sun. In the aftertoon we take tea and cake at the gloriously restored Pera
Palace hotel, which first welcomed European travellers on the Orient Express.
Day 8: Transfer to Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, about 30 minutes away.
