Istanbul Half Day City Tour with Spice Bazaar

Half day Istanbul city tour: The Golden Horn, City walls, Spice bazaar and Bosphorus cruise

(Morning or Afternoon)

The Spanish tour guide is only available on the morning tour. The morning tour ends in Taksim square. There is no drop off service to hotels.

On this half day Istanbul city tour you will experience an amazing Istanbul day with the Golden Horn, the stunning ancient city walls, The egyptian spice bazaar with every corner filled of exquisite spice fragrances, and a fantastic boat trip along the Bosphorus Istanbul.

Ancient City walls
The total length of the Istanbul walls is approximately 22 - 23 kilometers. It is around 8 km on the land side, 6 km on the Golden Horn side and 9 km on the sea side. The biggest difference of Istanbul walls from classical medieval walls is that it was built with aesthetic concerns. Rome is an enormous example of collaboration between military and urban engineering.

The Golden Horn
In the Golden Horn, the sea stretched into the land, creating a natural harbor, and it became the place where Byzantine and Ottoman ships gathered for centuries. The port divides the european side of Istanbul into two parts. It is about 8 km long and its widest part is the entrance part from the Bosphorus side (1100 mt). The Golden Horn, one of the oldest settlements in the world, is known as the Golden Horn (Khrysokeras) in antiquity. The name of the region was Keras in the Byzantine period, Haliç-i Konstantiniyye in the Ottoman period and Haliç which was used today.

Throughout history, the Golden Horn, which is a natural and very safe harbor as well as its geographical location, has played an active role in the development of Istanbul.

From the bird's eye view of the Golden Horn, the waters of Kağıthane and Alibeyköy give the appearance of a deer antler. When the waters were clean and clear, when the evening sun hit, their waters turned golden. Therefore, it was named “Golden Horn".

Spice bazaar (Closed on Sundays) 
Behind the New Mosque in Eminönü and next to the Flower Bazaar. One of the oldest bazaars in Istanbul, the Spice Bazaar was built by Turhan Sultan in 1660. The architect was Kazim Aga. The bazaar was restored by the Istanbul Municipality between 1940-1943. In this bazaar, which is famous for its products, there are still natural medicines, spices, flower seeds, rare plant roots and shells in addition to the old tradition, as well as nuts, delicatessen products and different foodstuffs are sold.

It is one of the oldest covered bazaars in Istanbul which exudes the eastern side of Istanbul in the most exotic way. In the period it was founded, thousands of spices and herbal herbs from the far east countries from India to Arabia were sold especially in this unique market. Since most of the goods came from Egypt, it was called as Egyptian Bazaar. There are a total of 86 shops in the bazaar, which is accessed through six different gates.

Bosphorus cruise
After our visit to the Egyptian bazaar, we will go to the pier for a Bosphorus boat tour and take a boat for a wonderful Bosphorus tour.

On the Bosphorus boat trip we will see the Ciragan palace, Ortakoy mosque, Kuleli military high school, Rumeli fortress and Beylerbeyi palace from the boat with a 90-minute Bosphorus boat tour in the magnificent Istanbul Bosphorus that separates Asia and Europe from each other. We will also pass under the first suspension bridge of the Bosphorus.