Istanbul Ancient Monasteries Full-Day Tour with Lunch | 6 hours 40 minutes to 7 hours 30 minutes

14 Reviews | Istanbul
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Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • English speaking licenced & professional guiding
  • Lunch
  • Transportation
  • Personal expenses
  • All the places in the itinerary will be visited from outside

Overview

We will see as many churches as we can see from outside. Our day starts with the visit of St. Saviour of Chora from outside. Built originally as a part of a monastery complex in the 4th century, transformed to a mosque at the beginning of 16th century, became a museum in 1945, and recently retransformed to a mosque again. We will continue with Tekfur Palace, a late 13th-century Byzantine palace. Next stop is the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae, an Eastern Orthodox church. We will see the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols from 7th century. And the oldest surviving and most prestigious Greek Orthodox school in Istanbul, Phanar Greek Orthodox College. Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is also on our itinerary. We will finish our tour with Monastery of the Pantocrator, the most typical example of architecture of the Byzantine middle period in Constantinople. And finally we will see the remains of the Church of St. Polyeuctus, from the 6th century.

Pickup points

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Pickup details

Complimentary pick up and drop off from centrally located European Side hotels ... Read more â–¼

Itinerary

  • Chora Museum

    Greek orthodox church, originally built in the early 4th century as part of a monastery complex outside the city walls of Constantinople (Visit from outside)

    30 minutes

  • Tekfur Sarayi

    13th-century Byzantine palace in the north-western part of the old city of Constantinople (Visit from outside)

    30 minutes

  • N/A

    An Eastern Orthodox church

    30 minutes

  • Church of St. Mary of the Mongols

    The only remaining Byzantine church of Constantinople that has never been converted to a mosque, always remained open to the Greek Orthodox Church

    30 minutes

  • N/A

    The oldest surviving and most prestigious Greek Orthodox school in Istanbul

    30 minutes

  • Fethiye Muzesi (Pammakaristos Church)

    The Pammakaristos Church was constructed in the early part of the 12th century

    30 minutes

  • The Walls of Istanbul

    You will see the walls and gates of Constantinople

    45 minutes

  • N/A

    This mosque is made of two former Eastern Orthodox churches and a chapel

    45 minutes

  • Fener Rum Patrikhanesi

    You wil see Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

    30 minutes

  • Church of St Polyeuktos

    Ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople, built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus

    30 minutes

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
  • Not recommended for pregnant travelers
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • All the places in the itinerary will be visited from outside.

Free Cancellation

June 19100% refund
June 20No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

4.6

14 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    12
  • 4 stars
    1
  • 3 stars
    0
  • 2 stars
    0
  • 1 star
    1

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 12 reviews with 5 stars

Outstanding Guide

Published on May, 2022

Diana was an outstanding guide. She knew her subject matter very well and was very professional. Also could explain things in context of the current situation

Cultural wow!

Published on Feb, 2020

Wow! Wow! And wow! This is one of the best experience to have in Istanbul. It takes an excellent guide, and be prepared with your extended distance walking shoes. Lutfallah, the guide, skillfully navigated the city. Superb!

Wonderful tour especially incredible Chora mosaics

Published on Jul, 2019

Our guide Lutfi picked us up from our hotel as arranged. My husband and I were the only ones on the tour which made it very special. We started with the highlight- Chora church mosaics. If you are interested in beautiful art, the mosaics in the Chora church will blow you away. The walls and ceilings were covered in mosaics mostly of reasonable quality. Absolutely fantastic to see! Lutfi told us the story of all the mosaics and gave us plenty of time to take photos. I was a bit disappointed that we started with the Chora mosaics as everything after would fade in comparison, but in hindsight it was better to start with this while we were fresh and unaffected by the heat. The tour comprises a lot of walking ( around 12km) and in the heat it is quite exhausting! The rest of the tour was great in that as well as looking at Byzantine mosques and monasteries which had mostly been converted from churches, we wandered the streets where few tourists go. It gave us an insight into another side of Istanbul. Our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Lunch was authentic Turkish fare ( but not tourist kebabs or pide as explained by Lutfi) and extremely filling! This was a remarkable tour for us, but may not appeal to everyone.

Terrific!

Published on May, 2019

We enjoyed this tour very much. Our guide Ilker was incredibly knowledgeable. His enthusiasm and warmth made this tour particularly memorable. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with Ilker at a restaurant in the Fatih district. He could not have chosen a better itinerary or restaurant.

Marvelous! Absolutely marveIous! I...

Published on Jun, 2018

Marvelous! Absolutely marveIous! I was in luck since I was the only one having booked the tour that day. So a small-group tour turned into a private tour for me. And this tour was the highlight of my trip. After having experienced the big tourist attractions I wanted to find the hidden historical gems... and this tour did not disappoint! My tour guide was extremely friendly and he was also extremely knowledgable, and imparted the knowledge in really fun ways! I highly recommend this tour if you have visited all the big attractions Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque etc and want something a little different.

Oh, and the lunch included? Absolutely fantastic! Normally an included lunch is fairly standard, more filling than anything, but this lunch was at a restaurant with home cooked anatolian food.

One fair bit of warning for this tour though, there is much walking involved so if you are not prepared for that this tour might not be for you.

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