This tour will take you to a number of places that are usually not included in most tours. We will pick you up from your hotel at 9 AM. We will start with a walk around the area of the Spice Market, a popular shopping area for locals with its wholesale prices for almost everything. Our next destination will be the Spice Market itself, otherwise known as the Egyptian Bazaar, where people have been buying herbs and spices for hundreds of years. You will have free time to explore the Spice Market on your own, before we visit the Rustem Pasa Mosque. Suleiman the Magnificent built the Rustem Pasa Mosque for his grand Vizier Rustem Pasa. It was constructed by Sinan, the great Ottoman architect. Rustem Pasa is famous for its Iznik tiles.

We will take a ferry to Kadikoy, a large residential area on the Asian side of Istanbul. In Kadikoy, you will get to see how the local people live and visit Kadikoy’s famous fish market.

After lunch in Kadikoy, we will take the ferry to Kabatas on the European side and walk to Dolmabace Palace, where Ataturk died in 1938. We will take the Finicular up to Taksim, also known as Pera. Taksim Square is one of the main centres of Istanbul. We will walk down Istiklal Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare, lined with many famous clothing shops, such as Mango and Topshop, as well as several Starbucks and more than 3,000 street cafes, pubs and restaurants. Taksim is also one of the centers of nightlife in Istanbul.

Further down Istiklal we will get to Galata Tower, one of the first towers built in the world (6th century). You get a 360 degree view of Istanbul from the top of the tower – if you stand in the elevator queue, which we won’t be doing. We will continue down to Karakoy and cross the Galata Bridge, where you will see locals fishing, ending up in Eminonu, where we have started. From Eminonu your guide will take you back to your hotel.