Hello, my name is Serhat Engul. I organize private guided tours in Istanbul focusing on Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history. In this article, you can find information about my private walking tours in Istanbul.
Each of these tours lasts 3 to 4 hours and introduces you to places of Istanbul such as Sultanahmet (Old City), Fener & Balat (old Greek and Jewish quarters of the city), Beyoglu (Karakoy, Galata, Istiklal Street, Taksim Square) and Kadikoy (Asian Side).
1. Sultanahmet (Old City) Tour
Sultanahmet (Old City) tour is the best selling among my private walking tours in Istanbul. In approximately 3 to 4 hours, you will see some of the most prominent historical monuments in Istanbul. Meanwhile, you gain general information about the history and culture of Istanbul.
Half-day Old City tour includes the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia and Spice Bazaar. This itinerary is an excellent introduction to the history of Istanbul for first timers.
On this walking tour, you will learn about the Greco-Roman history of Istanbul, starting from ancient times, as well as get an idea about the Ottoman period. You will also meet some of the Old City’s best local restaurants and Turkish dessert shops as you walk to Spice Bazaar towards the end of the tour.
The price of the half-day Old City tour is 200 EURO (same price for up to 4 people). This fee is the private guidance price and does not include museum entrances. Admission is free for guides. So you will have to pay for your own tickets.
2. Fener and Balat Walking Tour
Fener and Balat walking tour is to enjoy history, architecture and food. These districts were the places where non-Muslims lived in Ottoman Istanbul. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, Fener was the Greek quarter of the city, while Balat was the Jewish quarter.
Nowadays there are art galleries, antique shops, cafés and restaurants in the oldish streets of Fener and Balat. On this tour, you can see the colorful houses in the picture above and take wonderful souvenir photos.
In Istanbul, you need a private tour guide most during the Fener Balat walk. Because the churches in these districts are normally closed to visitors. However, guides who know the area can call the attendants in advance and get permission to enter.
Fener and Balat walking tour is one of the most special among my walking tours in Istanbul. By joining this tour, you can see places that an average tourist visiting Istanbul will never see.
Fener Balat walking tour starts by meeting in front of Kadir Has University at 10:00 in the morning. Duration of the tour is 4 hours. The price of the tour is 220 EURO (same price up to 4 people).
3. Beyoglu Walking Tour
Beyoglu walking tour perfectly complements the historical experience you have in other tours. After seeing the early Ottoman structures in Istanbul Old City, you will continue your historical journey in Beyoglu.
There are two periods in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The first is the Classical Period, when the empire was at its peak. You can see the traces of this period in and around Sultanahmet. Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque reflect this period very well.
The Modern Period represents Westernization. The Ottomans started to build European-style palaces and structures from the 19th century. You can see the best examples of this period in Beyoglu.
The Beyoglu walking tour covers the relatively new places of the city such as Karakoy, Galata, Istiklal Street and Taksim Square. A walk in these districts will introduce you to the last century of the Ottoman Empire.
The Beyoglu walking tour starts at 10:00 in the morning by meeting in the courtyard of Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque next to the Tophane Tram Stop. Duration of the tour is 4 hours. The price of the tour is 220 EURO (same price up to 4 people).
4. Asian Side Walking Tour
Asian Side walking tour mainly takes place in Kadikoy, which is also the most popular address of street food tours in Istanbul. Kadikoy is the best place for visitors to Istanbul to get off the classic tourist route and experience a little local life.
Asian Side Walking Tour starts by boarding a ferry near Spice Bazaar and passing to the other side of the Bosphorus in half an hour. It covers Kadikoy’s famous Fish Market, Bahariye Street and the hip Moda neighborhood.
The seaside districts of Ottoman Istanbul (Bosphorus or Golden Horn) were places where people of many different races and religions lived together. Kadikoy reflects this richness with its structures and dishes.
Kadikoy walking tour starts by meeting in front of the Spice Bazaar at 10:00 in the morning and lasts 4 hours. The price of the tour is 220 Euros.
5. Byzantine History Tour
The Byzantine history tour focuses on the Christian heritage in Istanbul. On this tour you can grasp the period that began in the 4th century with Emperor Constantine and continued until the fall of Byzantium in the 15th century.
Half day Byzantine history tour has Hippodrome, Basilica Cistern, Great Palace Mosaics Museum, Little Hagia Sophia (former Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus) and Hagia Irene Church. In this walking tour, we will focus on the Byzantine monuments in Sultanahmet.
In this thematic history tour, you will gain general information about Byzantine Istanbul and learn the history of buildings such as the Grand Palace, Hippodrome and Little Hagia Sophia, located in the heart of Constantinople, with all the legends and stories associated with them.
The itinerary of the Byzantine Istanbul tour may vary depending on the restoration status of the relevant historical monuments. If I need to make changes to the itinerary, I will let you know before the tour.
Recommended on TripAdvisor
I signed up for TripAdvisor in 2015 as Private Tour Guide Serhat Engul. Since then, more than 50 guests have written detailed reviews about my private guided tours in Istanbul. Among the notes you can see references to each of the tours I’ve introduced in this article.
As someone who loves Istanbul, I passionately share what I know about the city with my guests. I am glad that I have been able to achieve this with the private walking tours I have organized in Istanbul and the hundreds of articles I have published on this site (Istanbul Clues).
Conclusion
You can read most of what a tour guide will tell you about Istanbul from books. After all, I learned most of what I know from history books. But how many books can you read before visiting Istanbul? Or how many times do you have to visit Istanbul to find out the tips a local tour guide knows about the city?
The private walking tours of Istanbul that I present on this page are designed to provide you with the most information in the shortest way. And this website will give you clues about the depth of my knowledge about Istanbul.
If you are coming to this city and really want to know the history and culture of Istanbul, you can book one of my private guided tours. In order to inquire about availability, please fill out the form on the contact page.
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Dear Serhat, we are fro Georgia, Tbilisi and planing open new package Tbilisi-Turin-Trier-Istanbul and in Istanbul we wanted for your help. By our proggram in Turckey ur travelers must seen Chora Church, Aya Sofia, Orthodox other places, also St.George church which located on one of the icelands of Turckey icelands named “Principle Icelands”. We will be appreciate if you help us in above cases.
Hello Levan, Thank you for reaching out, I will be replying your questions and requests through personal e-mail. All the best!
Dear Serhat
I write to you in regards to our visit to Istanbul couple of days back
I would like to thank you for a memorable tour of Istanbul. I am very glad to have engaged your services. You have extensive knowledge of Istanbul history which kept us engaged at all times. We had a fantastic time seeing the various historic places in the Old city.
Warm Regards
Dear Abhijit,
I am very happy to see your great review. It was a pleasure and honour for me to accompany you during your visit to Istanbul. Thank you for your kind words.
Warm regards,
Serhat Engul.
We are starting to plan our trip to turkey. I have saved your information for over a year and now ready to correspond.
We are a couple, aged 60 and 64. 1/2 and full day price for guided tour through you? Best time of year to come to avoid largest crowds or holidays.
Do you have connection in central turkey? We will stay i istanbul for 2 or 3 days then go to the north coast then central.
Dear Akua Lum-Reeser, It’s nice to hear from you. I remember your comment on my blog post related to Sultan Suleiman. Yes the half and full day tours are guided by me.
I think you may consider Winter to avoid the crowds. Because Istanbul’s high season starts at April and ends by the end of October. November might be also a good choice. December, January and February is really calm in Istanbul, if you don’t mind about the cold weather.
I am a tour guide based in Istanbul, but I have connections with other parts of Turkey through my collaboration with Turkland Travel Agency.
Hi – do you provide guided tours in Spanish or only in English? We are going to Turkey on 2022 but my husband does not speak English.
Dear Marjorie Alvarez, I only provide guidance in English. We have two options here: First, I will explain to you, and you can translate it to your husband. I’ve done several tours this way. Or I can recommend a friend who can guide you in Spanish.
We had wonderful half day tour around Istanbul Old City. Serhat is really good guide. His knowledge is very impressive. It was a great pleasure to spend time with Serhat.
Hi Malgorzata, I am very happy to see your review here. It was nice meeting you and your family. It was also a pleasure to guide people who love history like you. Best regards, Serhat Engul.
I’m interested in the history of Constantine and his mother Helena, and in Justinian and especially Theodora. NOT interested in seeing blue mosque or Hagia Sophia. can we do a half-day tour with that focus in mind?
Dear Kenneth Atchity, yes this type of tour can be done. However, I must state that although I have extensive knowledge of Emperor Constantine’s life, my knowledge of his mother Helena is limited.
I can tell you the stories of Emperors Justinian and Theodora. Although, the story about them may be incomplete without seeing Hagia Sophia. Because it was their greatest work in their lifetime.
Since your tour will be one that focuses on history and narrative rather than sightseeing, the program should be determined accordingly. Maybe it would be beneficial in this sense to visit quieter places instead of a crowded place like Hagia Sophia.
A half-day tour that includes the Hippodrome, the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, Church of Sains Sergius and Bacchus (Little Hagia Sophia) and Hagia Irene Church may allow me to tell you the life stories of the emperors Constantine and Justinian.
Hello,
I love how you have provided information about Istanbul. I would like to request a half day tour of old Istanbul.
I am arriving in Istanbul on the evening of 16th May 2022. Kindly get in touch via email.
Hi Salmaan, thanks for your feedback about the site. Your e-mail address is registered in the system, I will contact you shortly.
Is the Chora Church and Museum still closed? I am having trouble finding current information. My husband and I are visiting in October and are interested in a tour that would include the Chora church/museum.
Hello Erna, first of all, it should be noted that while Chora was a church during the Byzantine period, it served as a mosque during the Ottoman period and as a museum during the republican period.
However, with a decision taken in 2020, the Kariye Museum was turned into a mosque again with the name “Kariye Mosque”. However, I think that both using it as a mosque and protecting the mosaics is a very difficult problem to solve.
Kariye Mosque is currently closed as this problem has not been resolved yet. A similar problem exists in the mosaics in the second floor gallery of Hagia Sophia. For this reason, the second floor of Hagia Sophia is also closed.
Since Fethiye Museum, a third place where you can see Byzantine mosaics, is currently under restoration, it is not possible to see examples of Byzantine mosaic art in Istanbul these days. I am sure these issues will be resolved in time.
Serhat was fully booked for the days we planned to tour Istanbul so, he quickly replied with all the information we needed to plan our visit. Someone this responsive and helpful, even when he will not receive payment, is very rare. I completely, without reservation, recommend his services.
Dear Bill, thank you for your nice comment. I am glad that the information I gave contributed to your trip. Thanks again for all your kind words.
Hi Serhat, thanks for setting up this blog which is super super helpful to my upcoming travel to Istanbul! I would very much like to sign up for your tour but my parents only speak Chinese – could you kindly by any chance recommend a Chinese-speaking guide to me?
Hi Christine, many thanks for your feedback on the site. There is only one Chinese guide I know in Istanbul. She is a colleague named Sultan. Frankly, I don’t know her very well, but she seems like someone who does her job well. If you wish, you can reach the Instagram address here.
Thank you Serhat for the reference!
You are welcome!
Hi Serhat, I only lately started following you. I will be traveling to Istanbul late September till October.
I am joining a MSC cruise and after that I will be going on a bus tour for 11 days. I will have some time available on the 26th September before I leave on the cruise and again on the 7th October before my bus tour. After the bus tour I will have the 19th and 20th October free.
I would love to visit the following areas: Besiktas, Cihangir, Fener, Balat and Beyoglu.
On the 26th September I will be in the Karakoy/Galataport areas. The other days I will be close to the Spice Bazaar.
What would you recommend for me to be able to visit all these places?
Thank you so much
Maria van Heerden
South Africa
Hi Maria, if I were you, I would first look at the Istanbul Tourist Map and find out where these districts are.
Afterwards, I would read Fener and Balat, then Beyoglu and Besiktas articles respectively and make a travel plan for myself.
Most of the questions asked are already in the blog posts. This specific post is about my private guided tours.
Good evening, Mr. Serhat. We want to thank you for the excellent tour you gave us last week on our first time to Istanbul. We learned a lot, we saw a lot, and amazingly (somehow) our 3 young children (aged 12, 7, and 7) also stayed engaged and well behaved, despite considerable walking and even a little bit of light rain. This is a very good skill you have!
We were a little nervous about signing up the children to a 3-4 hour tour, but we tried it anyway and we were very pleased that the whole thing proceeded smoothly from one site to the next. The kids loved the Basilica Cistern in particular. In addition, you suggested a nice affordable family restaurant for us at the end as well as great merchants to see within the Spice Market. Keep up the good work!
Dear Mr. Mario, thank you so much for taking the time to share your impressions of my tours.
I am sure this comment will be a reference for families who want to join my guided tours in Istanbul with their children.
Thank you very much again for your kind feedback. I wish you and your family a great year!
Hello,
My husband and I are interested in a half day walking tour of the old city. We would like enough time to experience a Turkish bath in the afternoon.
We will be arriving at the port on July 10. Do you have availability on that date?
Dear Mary Jane Rants, thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, I am not available that day. I have another tour booked for July 10th.
Salamu Alaikum Serhat,
Wanted to know your availability for April 21st?
Looking foward to hearing from you.
Sameera Nizami, Alaikum Selam, unfortunately I have a three-day private tour covering 20, 21 and 22 April 2024. For this reason, I will not be available on those days.
Hello
We will be in Istanbul from 19 th March for 7 nights and would be interested in a tour at some stage. I have messaged more details via Instagram
Thank you
Dear Deb Bauer, thank you for reaching out. I saw your message on Instagram and replied to you via your e-mail address.
However, I would like to emphasize that the first tour requests I see and respond to are the ones sent from the contact page of the website.
Since I don’t use Instagram actively, I can miss the requests I receive from there. I wanted to make a note for those who will read these lines in the future.
I am interested in your full day or half day tours in Istanbul for June 19 for me and my husband. Can you do the Grand Bazaar instead of the Spice Market? Also do you get the tickets ahead of time so we don’t stand on lines? Do you only meet in town or can you meet at the dock? Thanks.
Dear Sydel Shaw, thank you for reaching out. I will send you information about the tours via your email registered in the system.
I would like to note for possible future requests that I can respond to tour requests much faster via the form on the contact page.
There are many comments and questions left under dozens of articles on the site, and it can be difficult to distinguish and prioritize tour requests among them.