Visiting Magical Istanbul City
In bustling Istanbul, lose yourself in a maze of mosques and minarets, rambling down twisting narrow streets and experiencing the religious heart of this diverse city.
Get lost in the bazaars of this cosmopolitan city. Start your day with an exclusive treat: a before-hours, private opening of Hagia Sophia, the city's elevated cathedral with its pointed spires and soaring dome languishing on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus, a wide ribbon of water that separates Europe from Asia.
From colonnades to balustrades, Hagia Sofia is a three-dimensional encyclopaedia on architecture, displaying innovations in weight support and construction techniques. On your private tour, you'll get to see this architectural masterpiece without the swarming crowds that are the blight on this otherwise perfect masterpiece.
No trip to Istanbul would be complete without a trip to the chaotic, labyrinthine market in the heart of the Old City. Starting as a small covered market, the bazaar has grown to cover a vast area with more than 2000 shops, making it a world within itself. Despite its size, the Grand Bazaar is ideal for children, with myriad opportunities to keep them entertained.
The Grand Bazaar Hunt is our pick: children team up and are given the (pocket-money) purse-strings to buy a number of specific items on a list, bargaining with shopkeepers to get the best price. Not only does is it a welcome distraction, it also helps to teach the value of money, and is an education in new cultures and weird and wonderful things.
After the visit famous Spice Bazaar (Spice Market or Egyptian Bazaar), visit a 300-year-old lokum (Turkish Delight) shop, and learn about the importance of this sweet treat, also taste the Turkish baklava.
Enjoy Istanbul !
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