After the pick-up from your hotel in the morning, you will head off on your full-day tour of the fascinating city of Istanbul. Throughout the day you will visit Hagia Sophia, originally an ancient basilica built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century. You will also explore the Topkapı Palace, the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The palace houses an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, and the Holy Mantle, enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. Continuing on the tour, you will visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet. It is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. You will also visit the ancient hippodrome, where chariot races took place and where you can admire 3 monuments: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. On this tour you will visit the Grand Bazaar, where you can explore the labyrinth of streets and passages with over 4,000 shops. Here each trade has its own area including the goldsmiths’ street, the carpet sellers, and Turkish arts and crafts such as hand-painted ceramic plates, hand-honed copperware, brassware, and trays, water ewers, onyx-ware, and meerschaum pipes. At the end of the tour you will transfer back to your hotel.