Daily Istanbul Tour from Alanya by Flight – Hagia Sophia & Topkapi Palace

Daily Istanbul City Tour from Alanya – Byzantine and Ottoman Highlights in One Day

This daily Istanbul city tour from Alanya lets you step into the old heart of Istanbul and return to the Mediterranean the same evening. A domestic flight from Antalya brings you to the city, where a professional English-speaking guide leads you through the historic Sultanahmet peninsula on a well-paced day tour.

• Topkapi Palace, residence of the Ottoman sultans for almost four centuries
• The imperial treasury, porcelain collections and sacred relics at Topkapi
• Sultanahmet Mosque, known worldwide as the Blue Mosque
• The Hippodrome with the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the Column of Constantine
• The German Fountain on Sultanahmet Square
• Hagia Sophia Mosque and time at the bazaar

Topkapi Palace was the seat of Ottoman power from the 15th to the 19th century. Its courtyards and pavilions now display crystal, silverware, Chinese porcelain, imperial robes, the famous jewels of the treasury, fine miniatures and the Holy Mantle chamber with relics of the Prophet Muhammad. Across Sultanahmet Square stands the 17th-century Sultanahmet Mosque, whose interior is lined with thousands of blue Iznik tiles. Between the two lies the Hippodrome, the arena of Byzantine chariot races, still marked by an Egyptian obelisk, a bronze serpent column brought from Delphi and a stone column, together with the German Fountain, a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II. At the far end rises Hagia Sophia, built in the 6th century and for nearly a thousand years the largest church in the Christian world.

After a break for lunch, this Istanbul day trip ends at the bazaar, a lively place to shop for spices, Turkish delight, baklava, coffee, dried fruit and handmade souvenirs. Transfers between your Alanya hotel and Antalya Airport and between Istanbul Airport and Sultanahmet are included, while flight tickets and lunch are not. Please note that check-in for the domestic flight is done by each traveller. This daily excursion from Alanya is a long day, ideal for visitors who want to see Istanbul's essential sights without leaving their resort.