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(Prices are per person and in USD)
Note: The Bosphorus Strait cruise starts from Ortakoy or other pier nearby (April through November) and may originate near Dolmabahce Palace or the Spice Market. Dolmabahce Palace is closed on Monday and Thursday.
Visits include:
Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy, and Bosphorus Strait Cruise.
Duration: 5 Hours
Our Service Includes:
Private tour with a professional expert guide and a chauffeur driven air-conditioned, non-smoking luxurious van. Entrance fees to museums and sites, pick-up & drop-off from the port or your hotel, as needed.
Our tour begins at Dolmabahce Palace which was built on a section of the Bosphorus shore stretching from Kabatas to Ortakoy boasts some of the best examples of late Ottoman architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries. Foremost is the majestic Dolmabahce Palace, which was built in 1453 beside the water at great expense for a sultanate determined to break with the past and modernise in a civilised European manner. Thus its 600 m elaborate façade has more affinity with Versailles than the with the domes and arches of Topkapi Palace. The last six Ottoman Sultans resided here , it is one of the largest and most ornately-decorated palaces in the world with its 285 rooms, 46 reception rooms and galleries , and lavish decoration in gold and crystal that rivals the Palace of Versailles in France. Ironically, this extravagance hastened the end of the Empire. ‘Highlights’ are the 3 m-high (118ft) throne(Grand Ceremonial Room) with its four and half- tone crystal chandelier (a gift from Queen Victoria); the lavish decorated ambassador hall, a crystal stair case. From the royal grounds, we take a short drive to the picturesque seafront quarter of Ortakoy, literally ’middle village’ ,this Bosphorus suburb has an interesting ethnic history in which church, synagogue and mosque coexist peacefully in its narrow streets , And the believers of three religions live side by side for centuries in peace ,respecting to each other’s believes . Today it is trendy gathering –place for the young local people and tourists, with art galleries, chic café bars, and boutiques selling antiques, and craft vendors, and a cluster of restaurants hugging a small waterside square. After wandering the lively streets, we board the special public ferry and start our Bosphorus Strait cruise.
The Bosphorus is one of the world’s most eulogized stretches of water, the thirty-kilometre straight divides Europe and Asia and connects the Marmara and Black Sea. Since antiquity travellers have praised the beauties of this world’s most strategic waterway. It is one of the loveliest and most drastic sights in the world. The ferry will cruise-sail along the shore of fascinating Bosphorus visiting both the Europe Side and the Asia Side of Istanbul by the shores of local fishing villages and suburbs, en route when it is possible to take memorable photos of the fascinating environments including the 15th century Rumelihisarı Fortress, 19th and early 20th century Ottoman Palaces , Kiosks ,historical wooden houses (old Ottoman villas-Mansions) of famous Turkish families. The boat cruise will end at the fishing village of Sariyer or Tarabya which are very close suburbs to the end of Bosphorus where the Black Sea merges-come together with Marmara Sea. On the way
