Daily Fener & Balat Tour from Istanbul – Chora, Ahrida & Patriarchate (Shared)

Fener and Balat Walking Tour – Hidden Byzantine, Greek, Armenian and Jewish Istanbul

This daily Fener and Balat walking tour from Istanbul leads you away from the busy postcard sights into two old Golden Horn quarters where churches, mosques and synagogues stand only a few streets apart. It is a day tour for travellers who have already seen the famous domes and now want the layered, lived-in side of the city, explained by a licensed English-speaking guide.

Shore Excursion for Cruise Passengers in Istanbul

Arriving in Istanbul on a cruise ship? The Fener & Balat Tour is one of the shore excursions we regularly arrange for cruise guests calling at the port of Istanbul. For cruise guests we can arrange pickup at the cruise terminal where the shared tour schedule allows; if your time in port is short, we recommend the private version of this tour, which is timed to your ship. Tell us how many hours your ship stays in port and we will confirm that the full programme fits comfortably. Send us your ship name and the date of your call in Istanbul and we will confirm availability.

• Chora (St. Savior) and its celebrated 14th-century frescoes and mosaics
• The Anemas Dungeons, a Byzantine prison linked to imperial intrigue
• Panaghia Blachernae and the Atik Mustafa (Cabir) Mosque, a converted 9th-century church
• The Ahrida Synagogue with its ship-shaped Teva
• The Ecumenical Patriarchate and Church of St. George
• The red-brick Greek Lycee of Fener and St. Mary of the Mongols

Chora is famous for its Byzantine wall paintings, which tell biblical stories panel by panel. Nearby, the Anemas Dungeons take their name from Michael Anemas, a general who rose up against Alexios I Komnenos during the 1100s; later the cells held high-ranking captives, emperors among them. Blachernae was once among the most revered sanctuaries of the Byzantine capital because it sat beside the imperial palace and guarded an icon believed to protect the city in times of siege.

The walk continues past the Greek Orthodox church of St. Demetrius Kanabu, the exterior of the 16th-century Panaghia Balinu, the Ferruh Kethuda Mosque attributed to Mimar Sinan, and Surp Hirasdagabe, an Armenian church dating from the 1600s. The Ahrida Synagogue was founded by Jews from Ohrid, and its Teva recalls both Noah's Ark and the ships that carried Sephardic families from Spain. At the Patriarchate, the spiritual centre of Orthodox Christianity, admire the gilded wooden iconostasis of St. George.

As a daily excursion it involves a fair amount of walking on cobbled, sloping lanes, so wear comfortable shoes. Hotel pickup is included and entrance fees for the sites in the programme are covered; lunch is not included. This Balat day trip suits curious travellers aged 12 and over.