Day 1: Arrival and Turkish Night Show - Transfer to your hotel in Sultanahmet area. If time permits tonight we’ll experience a folklore dinner show. (D)

Day 2: Walking Tour of Old City - After breakfast we’ll set off to explore the streets of this amazing and historic city. We’ll take in the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace the Hippodrome, Basillica Cistern and the amazing Aya Sofya museum. We’ll stop in little cafes for a traditional cup of ‘cay’ (tea) and ‘simit’ (Turkish pretzel) We’ll finish the day off with a uniquely Turkish experience the Turkish Bath in one of Istanbul’s beautifully restored Hammams. (B)

Day 3: Bosphorus Tour and Bazaars - We walk the ancient streets down to Eminonu where we board one of the local ferries and journey along the magnificent Bosphorous. We’ll take in the site of magnificent mansions, historic buildings and life along this ancient waterway. At Sariyer we will disembark finally and head back by private transport to Eminonu where your guide will treat you to a famous treat, the famous fish sandwiches prepared and bought straight off the water in small boats. After our lunch we’ll walk through the Egyptian (spice) Bazaar then through the crowded backstreets until the incredible Grand Bazaar. Lots of bargaining will see out the day. You can return to the hotel at your own pace, you may even want to try a traditional water pipe or nargile at one of the famous ancient cafes in Beyazit. (BL)

Day 4; Departure
Tour ends after breakfast. Transfer to the airport to meet your outbound flight. The staff at Road Runner will be on hand to offer you any assistance and advice on further travel out of Istanbul. We hope you had a wonderful time in Europe’s Cultural Capital for 2010 and hope to see you again. (B)

Some historical notes……………………….

Aya Sofya or Hagia Sophia

Built on the site of Byzantium’s acropolis by the emperor Justinian I (completed AD 548), it was the greatest church in Christendom until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. It was transformed into a mosque and remained so until 1935 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk turned it into a museum.

Blue Mosque

Constructed between 1609 and 1616 by Sultan Ahmed the First. The mosque was built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, facing the Hagia Sophia (at that time the most venerated mosque in Istanbul) and the hippodrome, a site of great symbolic significance. Large parts of the southern side of the mosque rest on the foundations, the vaults and the undercrofts of the Great Palace. Several palaces, already built on the same spot, had to be bought (at considerable price) and pulled down, especially the palace of Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, and large parts of the Sphendone (curved tribune with U-shaped structure of the hippodrome).

Topkapi Palace

Initial construction began in 1459, ordered by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At the height of its existence as a royal residence, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, formerly covering a larger area with a long shoreline. The complex has been expanded over the centuries, with many renovations such as after the 1509 earthquake and 1665 fire. It held mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint. The name directly translates as “Cannon gate Palace”, from the palace being named after a nearby, now destroyed, gate.

Basillica Cistern

The name of this subterranean structure derives from a large public square on the First Hill of Constantinople, the Stoa Basilica, beneath which it was originally constructed. According to ancient historians, Emperor Constantine constructed a structure which was later rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Justinian after the Nika riots of 532. The enlarged cistern provided water for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.

· Airport transfers

· 3 nights in a boutique style hotel.

· Turkish folklore show including dinner and two drinks

· Guided tours of Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Spice and Grand Bazaars.

· Bosphorus cruise. Simple lunch in Eminonu.

· Traditional Turkish Bath

· All entrance fees

· Meals included as part of the itinerary (B – Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner)