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Islamic Heriatge Tours



Blue Mosque, Istanbul





Ottoman Heritage Tours - Istanbul & Bursa

 

Historical Peninsula - City of Sultans

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees

Highlights of Great Istanbul

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees
  • Picking up from your hotel at agreed time
  • Istanbul Sapphire Tower (The Tallest skyscraper in Europe)
  • Miniaturk Museum (mini models of all famous historical monuments of Anatolia)
  • The Panorama 1453 Historical Museum (The Conquest Of Istanbul)
  • Visiting one of below biggest shopping centres of Istanbul;
    • Jevahir in Sisli (Cevahir) or Olivium in Zeytinburnu
  • Back to your hotel

Magnificent Ottoman Mosques & Sahaba History

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner

Bosphorus Views & Cruise

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees
  • Picking up from your hotel at agreed time
  • 2-hour Bosphorus Cruise on a private boat
  • Dolmabahce Palace
  • Spice Market (Turkish: Mısır Çarşısı, meaning Egyptian Bazaar)
  • Enjoying panoramic view from the highest hill of Istanbul – Camlica Hill
  • Back to your hotel

Bursa City Trip – The 1st Ottoman Capital

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner











DETAILED ITINERARY


Historical Peninsula - City of Sultans

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees
  • After having breakfast at the hotel starting Istanbul tour.
  • Over 400 years where Ottoman Empire was ruled from, where modesty meets magnificence and spirituality meets power – Topkapi Palace. This maze of buildings was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries, in these opulent surroundings the sultans lived and governed. It is a maze of buildings centred around a series of courtyards, typical of Islamic tradition. The grounds include the Cinili Mansion, a Glass Palace and an imposing main gate. Other highlights in the Palace are the Spoonmaker’s Diamond (the fourth largest diamond in the world), the Topkapi Dagger (a gift from Mahmut I) and the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle (including a footprint, a tooth and a hair of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.).
  • Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque) was built on the order of Sultan Ahmet I between 1609-1616, the only mosque in Turkey to have 6 minarets. Legend has it that Sultan Ahmet wanted to have a minaret made of gold which is ‘altin’ in Turkish, the architect misunderstood it as ‘alti’, which means six. More familiarly known as the Blue Mosque due to its interior panelling of blue and white Iznik tiles, a visit here is a must.
  • Hagia Sophia museum is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul. The greatest art of Byzantine, for centuries non-comparable grandeur art.  Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture." It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey.
  • Ibrahim Pasha Palace -  where Islamic literatures lie. Ibrahim Pasha was the first Grand Vizier appointed by sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in the 16th century. This magnificent palace, built in the 16th century, is located in Sultanahmet Square and facing the Blue Mosque. The museum has two important sections: Turkish and Islamic arts section such as fine collections of ceramics, miniatures, calligraphy, textiles, woodwork, stonework, metalwork, carpets etc. dating back to 11th century and on. And the ethnographic section where one can see the traditional Turkish way of life from 18th-19th centuries, nomad tents, rug making with natural dyes, Ottoman houses and textiles, Turkish baths, etc.
  • Yerebatan sarnici ( Sunken Palace or Sunken Cistern) is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. The cistern, located 500 feet (150 m) west of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
  • The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning Covered Bazaar) where the trading has been continuing for over 500 years is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Opened in 1461, it is well known for its jewellery, pottery, spice, and carpet shops.
  • Overnight at the hotel

 

Magnificent Ottoman Mosques & Sahaba History

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees
  • After having breakfast at the hotel Istanbul tour is continued
  • The Eyüp Sultan Mosque (Eyüp Sultan Camii) is situated outside the Walls of old Constantinople, near the Golden Horn, in the district of Eyüp on the European side of Istanbul. Built in 1458, it was the first mosque constructed by the Ottoman Turks following their conquest of Istanbul in 1453. The mosque rises next to the place where blessed tomb of sahaba Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Eyüp Sultan) who accommodated for one night the Prophet Muhammed (s.a.a.w.) in his house. Hd. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was buried during the Arab assault on Constantinople in 670. His tomb is greatly venerated by Muslims, attracting many pilgrims. Some of the personal belongings of the Prophet Muhammad are preserved in the tomb.
  • The Fatih Mosque (Fatih Camii or Conqueror's Mosque in English) was built on the order of Fatih Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. It was one of the largest examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represented an important stage in the development of classic Turkish architecture.
  • Suleymaniye Mosque was built on the order of Sultan Suleyman (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1557. It is the second largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul.
  • Enjoying panoramic view from the highest hill of Istanbul – Camlica Tepesi.

 

 

Bursa City Trip – The 1st Ottoman Capital

One day tour - Inclusive of Special Dinner & Museum Fees
  • After having breakfast at the hotel tour to Bursa.
  • From Eskihisar to Yalova by ferry boat (Guests may have breakfast on the ferry boat).
  • After 3.5 hours arriving to Bursa.
  • Ulu Cami (The Great Mosque) is the largest mosque in Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture, which carried many elements from the Seljuk architecture. Ordered by Sultan Bayezid I, the mosque was designed and built by architect Ali Neccar in 1396–1400. It is a large and rectangular building, with a total of twenty domes that are arranged in four rows of five, and are supported by twelve columns. Supposedly the twenty domes were built instead of the twenty separate mosques which Sultan Bayezid I had promised for winning the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. The mosque has two minarets. Inside the mosque there are 192 monumental wall inscriptions written by the famous calligraphers of that period. There is also a fountain (şadırvan) where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before prayer; the dome over the şadırvan is capped by a skylight which creates a soft, serene light below; thus playing an important role in the illumination of the large building.
  • Yeşil Mosque (Yeşil Cami, "Green Mosque"), also known as Mosque of Mehmed I, is a part of the larger complex (a külliye) located on the east side of Bursa, the former capital of the Ottoman Turks before they captured Constantinople in 1453. The complex consists of a mosque, türbe, madrasah, kitchen and bath. The Yeşil Mosque can be shown as the perfect blend between architecture and embellishment, the proof that such works of art were produced in a country where the battles between siblings had come to an end and peace had returned. It was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi and completed in 1420. The architectural style known as Bursa Style begins with Yeşil Cami. The mosque is based on a reverse T-plan with a vestibule at the entrance leading to a central hall flanked by eyvans on the east and west and a larger eyvan with mihrab niche on the south. Two small eyvans flank the entryway above which the royal box (hünkar mahfili) is located.
  • Emir Sultan Mosque (Emir Sultan Camii) in Bursa was first built in the 14th century, it was rebuilt in 1804 upon the orders of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III, and re-built again in 1868, along slightly varying plans each time. Emir Sultan, also known as Şemseddin Mehmed Ali el-Hüseyin el Buhari, was a dervish and scholar from Bukhara and also the advisor and son-in-law of the Ottoman Sultan Sultan, Bayezid I.
  • Bayezid I Mosque (Yıldırım Camii or Yıldırım Bayezid Camii) is a historic mosque in Bursa, that is part of the large complex (külliye) built by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I (Yıldırım Bayezid - Bayezid the Thunderbolt) between 1391-1395. The mosque comprises a central hall with a large dome flanked by eyvans on the east and west with smaller domes and another large domed eyvan with mihrab on the south. In the Yıldırım Camii, all three eyvans were built three steps higher than the central hall. Yıldırım Camii was the first structure where Bursa Arch was implemented. This flattened arch is located in between the central hall and south eyvan connects and supports the two large domes. There are two minarets on the sides of the mosque. Unlike similar mosques of its time in Bursa, Yıldırım Camii was constructed entirely out of dimension stones and bricks were not used in any part of the mosque.
  • Enjoying the panoramic view of Bursa from Tophane hill.
  • Overnight at the hotel.