Daily Istanbul Tour from Ankara – Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque & Bazaar

Istanbul Day Trip from Ankara to the Historic Peninsula

This daily Istanbul city tour from Ankara uses a short domestic flight to put the Ottoman and Byzantine heart of Istanbul within reach of a single day. A professional English-speaking guide takes you through Sultanahmet, the old city centre whose monuments form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, before you browse the traditional bazaar and fly back to the capital in the evening. It is an efficient day tour for travellers based in Ankara.

• Topkapi Palace – residence of the Ottoman sultans with the imperial treasury and holy relics
• Blue Mosque – the Sultanahmet Mosque and its blue Iznik tiles
• Hagia Sophia – the great domed monument that has dominated the skyline for 1,500 years
• Hippodrome – the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the Column of Constantine
• German Fountain and Sultanahmet Square
• Traditional bazaar for spices, Turkish delight, baklava and souvenirs

From the 15th to the 19th century Topkapi Palace was the seat of the Ottoman court. Its pavilions and courtyards display porcelain, silverware, imperial robes, miniatures, the jewels of the treasury and sacred relics of the Prophet Muhammad. Across Sultanahmet Square the Blue Mosque, built in the early 17th century, faces Hagia Sophia, the former Byzantine cathedral that now serves as a mosque. Between them lies the Hippodrome, once the arena for chariot races, where an Egyptian obelisk, a bronze serpent column from Delphi and a stone column still stand.

Please note that the domestic flights to and from Istanbul are not included and require self check-in, and lunch is at your own expense. Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays, when the Basilica Cistern can be visited instead. Bring a headscarf for the mosque visits. As a daily excursion it gives a concise first impression of Istanbul from Ankara.