The private and guided Istanbul Old City Tour will take you to the roots of historic Istanbul, with a visit to Byzantine and Ottoman cultural heritage monuments, including the Harem section in Topkapi Palace.
Posted By : Daydream48042234881
We embarked on a remarkable guided tour of Istanbul’s old city, exploring Topkapi Palace and Harem, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar. Our guide, Furkan, was a true expert on the city, museums, and the best shops in the bazaar. He even took us to a charming little restaurant for lunch, where we savored delicious family–style food that we wouldn’t have discovered on our own.
Our tour with Furkan was so exceptional that we decided to book another day tour, this time to see the Bosphorus and other lesser–known tourist sites in Istanbul. We highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Istanbul, as it was a truly inspiring and eye–opening experience.
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Posted On : 2024-01-13 20:46:54 
Posted By : Arun22333444
What an amazing my time my family and I had touring the marvellous old city of Istanbul. Furkan is a highly knowledgeable guide and evoked both the sensational culture and history of the mosques and monuments. Highly , highly recommend. Furkan was also super helpful with cultural and culinary recommendations.
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Posted On : 2023-09-11 07:42:13
Posted By : 267daniak
I cherished the personalized time spent with Darya. Not only did she create a comfortable environment for my 10-year-old daughter to freely ask questions, but she also had an in-depth knowledge of the bazaar, guiding us to all the hidden gems, unique shops, and must-see places! Beyond her remarkable expertise, I genuinely feel like I've made a new friend in Turkey due to the wonderful connection we shared and inside jokes lol. Our day together was nothing short of amazing!! And I wholeheartedly encourage others to partake in this experience... My heartfelt gratitude goes out to her for making it so memorable….
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Posted On : 2023-08-11 13:46:13
Posted By : Y6250SUmonicag
Spent 2 exciting days in Istambul guided by Furkan. He introduced us to the marvelous food, showed us the hidden shops and all the interesting places while telling stories about the history and culture of the citiy. Best guide!
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Posted On : 2023-05-23 14:17:23
Posted By : wwchdin
My partner and I used Private Istanbul Walking Tours for both a food tour as well as a tour of Topkapi, Basilica Cistern and Grand Bazaar. And both were truly amazing.
Istanbul is amazing and there is so much to see, but having a private tour guide just elevates the experience to another level.
Furkan was our guide for both tours. He was extremely knowledgeable, as he has been doing this professionally for over 15 years. He is able to talk about history, culture, art of Turkey, you name it!
Furkan was very social, easy to talk and just an extremely nice person. We loved spending time with him.
Finally, the tours were customised to our timeline as well as our dietary requirements (achieving a food tour in Turkey without garlic and onion is quite a feat!)
Would recommend Private Istanbul Walking Tours without any hesitation, and we wouldn't look for anyone else if we're to visit Istanbul again.
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Posted On : 2023-05-09 11:46:21
Posted By : LeslieAbieraQuan
My guide Derya first took me to Suleymaniye Mosque and told me the history of it. She offered to take my picture…she takes great pictures. I loved this tour coz it really is off the beaten path. She took me to where locals hang out while telling me the history of every place we went to. I had sensory overload but it was great!
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Posted On : 2022-11-18 01:26:11 
Posted By : susanblum
We had a really great experience with Derya. She makes you feel like you're touring the city with a good friend, and made herself available to us throughout our stay. It was quite comforting knowing we had a local contact. For our tour, we visited all the iconic spots and even had a well-rounded sampling of local cuisine (thank you for introducing us to menemen!) Since our tour was on a national holiday, the Grand Bazaar was closed. Derya kindly returned for a second day to guide us through. Her knowledge of Turkish history, culture and politics made for a really informative experience and we so enjoyed talking with Derya as we walked. She also provided us with invaluable help on restaurants, hamams, and even purchasing a rug! We hope to visit this beautiful country again and will surely contact Derya!
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Posted On : 2022-11-12 20:41:45
Posted By : Y3468OZkathyb
Seeing the hidden aspects of Istanbul . . . in fact, my husband and I loved it so much in 2016, we returned in 2020. Whereas during the pandemic, we were unable to go to Derya's favorite tea house and enjoy a bit of apple-spiced hookhah, on this trip we focused more on small eateries, getting "lost" (not really) on small alleys and streets, local farmers market, and stopping frequently to enjoy another cai or a beautiful architectural feature or to make a purchase of spices, rugs, art. We even got to Tango in the cistern and a day trip to Gazientep.
Our guides were professional, efficient, flexible, sensitive to our desires, always on time if not early, and just plain fun. It felt like we were traveling with friends. We had solo time inter-mixed with guided time. When transportation was needed, it was in a top rate van. We loved the local forms of transport: ferry, funicular, trolley.
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Posted On : 2021-01-25 16:51:23
Posted By : TheBugThatTravels
It is my second trip to Istanbul in a year - it is my new favourite city. And both times I had the perfect guide at my side - Derya! Deeply knowledgeable and passionate about her city she is right there for the history, the big sites as well as the small, everything food, on or off the beaten path. For three days we had the best time. Having worked at the Grand Bazaar, she knows it like the back of her hand (and most of the people in it!!) - Derya is your indispensable guide to seeing the most interesting shops, shopping for the genuine article and negotiating the best deal. Even if you aren't planning to buy a carpet, let her take you to the shop in a former caravanserai managed by the same family for three generations. And if you have never been to a hamam ladies, let Derya arrange this sensational experience for you at a hamam dating back to the 15th century - you will not, I promise you, regret it!
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Posted On : 2020-01-09 14:02:51
Posted By : Tomas F
I had the chance of visiting the city again. I did not hesitate to contact Derya and again got an amazing treatment. Although our tour was very short she gave us tips so that we could use our time as best as we could.
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Posted On : 2019-09-15 16:01:46
