Small Group Tour: Essential Istanbul

Thank you Semih for taking your time with me, explaining me all the history about every single place in Istanbul and also taking such a nice pictures.

I had a great tour with Semih. He was incredibly knowledgeable, personable and intelligent. Due to the pandemic and low tourism, I had a private tour essentially. Semih catered the tour to what I wanted to see at my pace and I was able to see what I wanted. He met me at my hotel early which was near the sights and we ended with good food. Highly recommend Semih

I was the only one of the tour because of Covid. It worth every penny. Semih was professional, knowledgeable and entertaining. Because I was the only one of the tour I got be on my own schedule. It was great!

I was most impressed by Hagia Sophia. It is amazing. 2nd is my tour guide (Ozlem) she was well versed in her country’s long history. Turkey has a 8000 year history. How some can remember so many details is equally amassing!

I took this tour on May 2021, when the lockdown was in place. I ended up being the only person taking the tour. That’s a plus because it really was a private tour at the cost of a public tour. Semih my tour guide was well versed in the history of all 3 sites we visited (Blue mosque, Haga Sophia and Topkapi palace. We discussed the background and the modern politics behind the sites. I think this tour is essential for anyone visiting Istanbul. In one day you get to visit the 3 most important sites for a very fair price!

Absolutely incredible tour full of history and rich culture. Great tour guide Ozlem. She was incredibly nice, knowledgable, pleasant to be with and gave me the whole explanation of Haiga Sofia cathedral, Blue Mosque including tour to the carpet museum and delicious turkish delights. I have learned a lot from Ozlem about history of Istanbul and Ottoman Empire. I recommend this tour to anyone. Thank you very much.

My guide Ozlem was amazing you can tell that she loved her job. She is also very knowledgeable about the history of Turkey. I would recommend it to anyone they really want to learn and have fun at the same time.

Ozlem's style of taking time to explain the key historic facts through the lens of a story teller were both captivating and engaging. Having been on similar tours in Istanbul over the last two decades, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, not only to serve as a reminder of what this great city has to offer, but to re-live the path of the sultans, clergy and soldiers that passed through here over the last two thousand years!

My tour was during the pandemic and I was the only member in the group, therefore had the benefit of moving at my own pace. My tour guide was Ozlem. She knew a lot about the places we visited, had sound knowledge of the history and information about good places to taste Turkish food :) All in all, a great experience!

This trip was in the midst of the pandemic so your mileage may vary. When you say “small group” tour, it’s really small....it was just me lol. My tour guide Semih messaged me about 30 min before the meeting time that he was there, but that I can take my time as it was just me. We walked down the street to the hippodrome, followed by the Blue Mosk, Hagia Sofia, and onto Topkapi palace. He was very knowledgeable about the history and the culture with excellent command of English and gave me perspectives that cannot be obtained from a guidebook or an audio tour. We grabbed lunch then went Onto the Grand Bazaar then the spice market where we ended the tour. I would highly recommend the tour, especially early in your course of stay in Instanbul as he can point you to other attractions in town besides from the highlights in Sultanahmet area.