Istanbul Metamorphosis – from Ottoman silos to futuristic caves

Istanbul is more than the old town: this tour takes you to three places hardly any visitor knows, which show how the city transforms – Ottoman industrial buildings turned cultural venue, a mosque built into the hillside, and caves where people lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. Vehicle with driver, pick-up and return are included.

Highlights

• Çubuklu silos: Ottoman warehouses on the Asian Bosphorus shore, today a cultural venue
• Sancaklar Mosque by Emre Arolat: world architecture without dome or minaret
• Yarımburgaz caves: the oldest traces of human life in the Marmara region
• Drive along both Bosphorus shores with photo stops
• Vehicle with driver, pick-up and return included
• Ideal for repeat visitors, architects and the curious

Full description

The Çubuklu silos in Beykoz stand for the Istanbul of industrialisation: warehouses on the shore, today a stage and exhibition venue. The Sancaklar Mosque in Büyükçekmece, designed by Emre Arolat in 2012, does without everything you expect of a mosque and has won awards worldwide. And in the Yarımburgaz caves near Küçükçekmece the finds reach back to the Palaeolithic – later they served as a Byzantine monastery.

The three places are far apart; that is why vehicle and driver are included in the price. On the way you see both shores of the Bosphorus, the urban motorways and the new districts – the metamorphosis of the city in one day.

What we see

We adapt order and selection to weekday, opening hours, weather and your wishes.

• Pick-up
  Hotel or Galataport, drive across the Bosphorus Bridge.
• Çubuklu silos, Beykoz
  Ottoman warehouse buildings by the water, architecture and conversion.
• Lunch
  On the Asian shore, overlooking the Bosphorus.
• Sancaklar Mosque, Büyükçekmece
  Concrete mosque in the slope – light, silence, landscape.
• Yarımburgaz caves, Küçükçekmece
  Palaeolithic site and Byzantine cave monastery (exterior; interior subject to access).
• Return
  To your hotel or Galataport.

Included

• 7 hours private, state-licensed guide in your language (Mehmet Humayunoğlu or an experienced colleague from his team)
• Planning, coordination and time management of the day
• Headsets for groups of 16 or more
• Air-conditioned private vehicle with driver for the whole day
• Pick-up and return
• Tolls and parking fees

Not included

• Entrance fees where charged
• Lunch and drinks
• Airport transfer
• Personal expenses, tips

Meeting point

Pick-up at your hotel lobby or at the Galataport cruise terminal; return to the starting point is included.

You will recognise me by the sign “MeinReiseleiter.de” and the visibly worn guide licence. We confirm meeting point and time with your booking.

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Important information

German, English, Turkish, French, Italian, Spanish – 25 more languages on request.

• Shoes – Firm ground at the silos, uneven ground at the caves.
• Dress code – In the mosque shoulders and knees covered, ladies with headscarf.
• Access – Caves and silos are not always accessible; we check in advance and adapt the programme.