Top Istanbul Historical Tours - page 2

We did not get our guide's name but we thought he did a great job. He maneuvered us to different parts of the tour in a manner that avoided many of the crowds. We were disappointed that several areas were closed for renovation but our guide was very helpful in describing what was there.

Antea was a fabulous guide. Patient and knowledgeable. This tour is such good value considering it’s for your group only. You can completely tailor it to your liking. We paid entrance fees to visit the Bascilica Cistern - Antea was able to skip us to the front of the line at this location which was a bonus. We also paid entrance fees to the Topaki Palace - which was amazing and well worth it. There wasn’t really much of a line here as it was our first stop she was able to get what we needed much faster than we would have been able to. We skipped the blue mosque (we did the tour on a Friday which is when mosques are closed for the morning) so the line was huge. However we went early the next morning (opens at 8.30- we arrived at 8.10 and were first in line) We skipped the Hagia Sophia as it was also closed in the morning and under renovation. If we had wanted to line up at either of the places we skipped Antea would have been more than happy to do that with us. Highly recommend this tour and Antea especially. Ps. We did go to a carpet shop - amazing to see. There was no pressure to buy - but if you did want to buy this would be a good place to start. Thank you

We arranged a private tour with Viator. Our guide was Murat. We had arranged to visit the Bascillia Cistern and Topaki Palace. Murat arrived on time. He was professional, courteous and knowledgeable. We learnt a great deal about the ancient history of Instanbul but also life in the current day. We would highly recommend him.