Situated at the northern end of the famous hippodrome known as Sultanahmet Square, the German Fountain (also known as the Kaiser William Fountain) was built in 1898 to commemorate the German Emperor’s visit to Istanbul. Designed in a Neo-Byzantine style by a team of German and Italian architects, the fountain survives today as a testament to Germany and Turkey’s longstanding friendship.
With buildings dating from the early Byzantine through the late Ottoman periods, the bustling Sultanahmet District is thick with historical and religious attractions. Behold the breathtaking Hagia Sophia Museum, witness the opulent lives of sultans at Topkapi Palace, go underground to explore the Basilica Cistern, experience the active Blue Mosque and its intricate tile work, shop for the perfect souvenir at the Grand Bazaar, and imagine horse racing at the site of the ancient Hippodrome. Most guided tours of the Sultanahmet District visit all of the six main sites, and often allow you to skip the long lines. Opt for private or group tours of various lengths to suit your travel style and schedule.
Turkey’s (officially the Republic of Türkiye) magnificent Hagia Sophia is a riot of swooping domes and mismatched minarets added throughout its long life. The lofty interior is a soaring sequence of domed and arched spaces, centering on the shell-like apse and the massive dome, which seems to float unsupported and gives the church its amazing sense of space. Work continues to uncover the golden Christian mosaics and colorful frescoes from the Byzantine era, which were plastered over by the Ottomans. Tours often allow you to skip the long lines with a guide, and many Istanbul excursions combine the Hagia Sophia Museum with other sights in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet neighborhood, including the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, and Basilica Cistern.
The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul’s top attractions and offers the opportunity to visit an active place of worship in the historical Sultanahmet neighborhood. Stroll through the airy courtyard and pause to soak up the atmosphere inside the mosque’s vast and curvaceous interior under cascading domes.
Home to some of Istanbul’s most recognizable attractions, the Sultanahmet District is an ideal place to explore the city’s complex history. With the rose-colored Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) sitting across from the six minarets of the Blue Mosque and down the street from the energetic Grand Bazaar, this neighborhood packs in a wealth of culture.
This tour was good! You get to see a lot of the main sites of Istanbul and the pacing is solid. For younger people, you probably don’t actually need a guide to get around since it’s pretty easy to navigate and the sites have good, free audio tour options.
Great tour guide John was clear And helpful with tips about the city .
The guide was very informative and professional! It was such a nice tour 😊
The guide talk a lot of information about the place , it was great !
Batu was a great guide very willing to answer questions
I had a great time visiting these two monumental pieces of art. John was knowledgeable and imparted in details the intricate and depth of History of Turkey through the lenses of religion. I truly enjoyed learning about the how these architectural masterpieces came to be.
Ali Cem was a great and knowledgeable guide!
Really good expérience, and good guide
Despite arriving slightly late due to the Istanbul marathon traffic, my guided found where I was , collected me and then provided those on his tour with very clear and informative information.
Our guide, Batu was great! He explained everything very clearly and was very patient with everyone. Whole experience was really good.! He also gave us some advice on where to eat and what he recommended was delicious.!
Can, Super awesome guide he had so many intriguing tit bits in addition to the actual tour and also gave a lot great advice for Istanbul. Hundred percent recommend !!
Can our guide was excellent. He was knowledgeable, wittu, engaging, polite. He walked us through all the historic places and gave details of history and importance of those. He also helpes is with other recommendations in Istanbul. 5 on 5 for him
Thanks for everything.Very kind guide with understandable Lenguage and amazing aproach. 👍
Batuhan was a very knowledgeable and energetic guide. He was very friendly and helpful throughout the tour. We really enjoyed learning about the beautiful sights in Istanbul.
Batu is an amazing tour guide super patient and great knowledge of Istanbul! Totally recommend
Batuhan was a great guide and very knowledgeable
The tour was great. Our guide Tolga is very knowledgeable! It was a small group so we could hear him very well despite the amount of tourists around us
We had a wonderful experience with Batu, our guide. He was friendly, full of energy and always smiling. Thank you, Batu, for your patience and for making our friends trip even more enjoyable! Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We had a great time with this tour - so beautiful to see the mosques and learn more of the background. Furkan is knowledgeable and personable!
Bath as an excellent guide, very informative and we enjoyed all of the sites!
Jaan is great ! He is direct, crisp and gave info as needed along the way. Got good recommendations at the end as well.
This was our second time with Furkan as our guide and as expected he was brilliant! I particularly liked the small group size which allowed for more interesting stories and conversation. It was NOT a large group where you struggle to hear what the guide is saying. Furkan himself is clearly very knowledgeable and imbues the tour with interesting stories and anecdotes. I highly recommend this tour!
Excellent guide with clear explanations on what we are seeing.
Batu was an excellent and informative guide - fabulous photographer too
Overall great tour of the main sites. The guide was very knowledgeable.
Very friendly staff!Nice trip of these history buildings!Not soo long but its enough to know everything from this buildings!
Great experience, our guide Ali Cem was really knowledgeable and helpful! We absolutely enjoyed it and we highly recommend it to all first time travellers to Istanbul.
Excellent tour! Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and the pace was perfect for our group. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Cistern were all amazing — highly recommended for anyone visiting Istanbul for the first time. Five stars!
Really worth every penny esp the skip the line really helps. Admission is a bit steep but its a whole new experience and learn about history
A great experience. Excellent pace, very informative, amazing sites to see. Queue s were long so def worth paying to skip the queues and have the guide sort everything out re entry etc. Women need to cover their heads and you can buy a disposable headscarf for 115 lira.
Everything about this tour was excellent. The meeting spot was convenient, the guide was excellent and, of course, the experience was beautiful.
Batu was a great guide very knowledgeable and helpful
Wonderful tour, thanks Batu!
Awesome guide and experience
Con was a great tour guide- very informative! This tour was a great introduction to Istanbul. Definitely recommend!
. Batu the tour guide was amazing! Did not rush us at all, had a great deal of knowledge which is why we booked the tour, he made sure we got enough photos and captures the important history
Very interesting and informative tour. Our guide Behlül certainly knew his stuff and was knowledgeable and friendly. We met at the German Fountain 15 minutes before the start time. The group was around 15 people and didn't feel crowded. We visited the Blue mosque 1st. A must see when visiting Istanbul. The Hagia Sophia followed. When we'd finished there we bid farewell to all but 4 of the group, the 6 remaining then visited the Basilica Cistern which for a Bond fan is also a must as it featured in From Russia With Love. Highly recommend doing this tour when you're in Istanbul.
My team and I had a great tour from Ali Cem, who took us to both the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque and Hagia Sophia. His tour was interesting, but also a ton of FUN! He kept our whole group of 13 engaged throughout, and gave us information about the sites we were seeing but also about the experience of living in Istanbul.
Jon was great and very knowledgeable!
Guide gave a detailed history lesson and pointed out some significant aspects. He was also good at looking out for his group. Reading a guide book would probably provide all that though. Unless a guide is very important to you it is poor value for money.
Batu did a wonderful job! Very comprehensive and clearly communicated! Would highly recommend.
Batu was fabulous!!! Great English! Very informative!
Botu was very informative. Tour was paced appropriately.
Bathuhan was friendly, informative and entertaining, sharing history and connections with a dash of humour. He reached out before to make sure that we were prepared, met us on time and made sure our group was all together, answering questions, making suggestions and taking group photos for us. All in all a good experience!
Very basic tour with no extra info provided (unlike other fantastic tours booked via Viator). Also not 3hrs as advertised, the tour started late at 9.10am and finished at 11am (where there was the option of joining a different tour for an additional 900 Turkish lira). Not worth the $ originally paid for.
Tour guide is friendly and knowledgeable. Good experience for first time visitors in Istanbul.
Very enjoyable tour. We had a great experience with Hassan who was professional, had interesting insight and very informative regarding the culture and history of this area. We enjoyed his company!
I had a wonderful tour with Tolga through Tourmania. Tolga is a licensed tour guide, and his certification really shows. He knows so much about the city, and about the sites we visited and really added to my understanding of Istanbul. I also loved that we were a small group – – six people. I hope Tourmania will continue to keep their tour groups small. It’s a much better experience for visitors, especially in busy tourist sites.
A very spiritual and historical experience that I would highly recommend to everybody once in a lifetime!
Excellent and comprehensive tour. Batu was a wonderful guide. Lots of detail!
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
Reach us by phone
Reach us by email