Istanbul is one of the oldest cities in the world and has been the cradle of civilizations for millenniums. It didn’t only connect continents but also diverse cultures and traditions. This ancient city offers you more than you can expect. You are going to be fascinated with profound history, legends, myths, and untold stories, stories that connect the past with the present… To learn more about history, cultures, and traditions as well as to discover hidden gems, join our tour. Be like a local…
We will meet at your hotel and we will explain the details of your tour program. We are first going to take you to Ibrahim Pasha Palace which was dedicated to the smartest grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire Ibrahim Pasha. This Ibrahim Pasha Palace, today functions as an Islamic and Turkish art museum and has a very rich collection of artworks.
After visiting the Islamic art museum, We are going to discover a 15 hundred-year-old Roman cistern. Here, your guide will explain the fascinating facts about Roman architecture and engineering.
Then we will take you to the labyrinth of the colorful grand bazaar where you will have a chance to see the bazaar with the eye of a local. Here, we like to share our knowledge wıth you by showing you some authentic stores such as centuries-old kilims, traditional bathing costumes, calligraphy handmade jewelry, and some antiques. And also, we will be exploring an Ottoman period caravanserai.
For the tea and coffee lovers, we will have a break by sitting at the center of the labyrinth and enjoying drinking tea and coffee.
The highlight of this tour will be a 300 years old Turkish bathhouse where you will have a traditional bathing experience; it means massage, scrubbing, and relaxing. After the hamam experience, you will be like a "newborn baby."
Then the option is, to finish here at the zenith or if you like to taste the special dishes of the Anatolian cuisine, we will invite you to an authentic restaurant that luckily tourısts have not discovered yet. Only we can guide you to reach there. You will taste delicious Anatolian dishes and have some information about the recipes. As the old saying goes “a hungry bear doesn't dance”.
Your hotel's lobby
The Turkish and İslamic art museum used to be the palace of the grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha and it houses a lot of rich artifacts from so many different Muslim and Turkish civilisations from the early 7th century to 19 th century. It is a very unique and gorgeous building.
The cisterns were used as water storages and provided water for many civizilatıons. The most impressive ones remaining intact in the present day are those from the Roman period. we are going to visit one of the most well preserved.
Date back to 1461 which was designed for the merchants who were traveling and trading along the silk road. As we know that Constantinople was the last stop of the road before reaching the European markets We are going to take you inside and do our best to cover a few autantic places among the 2 to 3 thousands stores.
The best part of the Ottoman culture and tradition is to treat yourself like an emperor at a centuries old traditional bathhouse and get eternal youth and beauty with bathing and auratheraphy massage.
Millennium's old Anatolian cuisine offers all its richness generously to those who are lucky enough. We highly recommend you to have a meal with Anatolian wine to have a genuine experience.
