Private Guided Istanbul Tours
Best Private Tours in Istanbul
Welcome to the best and most reliable travel agency in Turkey. We specialize in exclusively private Istanbul tours. All of our staff are experienced and professional tour guides. We aim to provide our guests with the best services to make their stay in our country as pleasant and enjoyable as possible.
Include Turkey in your itinerary and let us take care of the rest. Istanbul is a beautiful, historical, and sophisticated city. We are here to help you have the most memorable experience in the best way possible. If you expect reliability, quality, and excellent service from your stay, let us exceed your expectations. With over 35 years of experience, we specialize in private tours, sightseeing, shopping, and culinary arts.
Our expertise especially is on places of historical interest. We are specifically experts in areas of historical importance. Even though Turkey is a Muslim country, our guides have the expertise and knowledge of Jewish and Christian history, culture, and theology. You will experience Istanbul from different perspectives and angles. Let us guide you within this rich culture, anyway your imagination turns.
Tailor-Made Itineraries with Personal Focus
Our tours do not have pre-set itineraries. This allows us to custom design the itineraries to match our guests’ individual needs and interests. To arrange the best possible itineraries, we work as a private concierge service. In other words, we only finalize the reservation when we know we have matched our guests’ desires.
We can even organize special programs off the beaten path, which depends on our guests’ time and availability. We also offer private tours in Cappadocia, Ephesus, and the Blue Cruises.
Best Professional Tour Guides in Istanbul
During our private Istanbul tours, one of our professional, experienced tour guides will be at your disposal to show you the best sites of our beautiful city.
Our tour guides are talented, knowledgeable, and experienced. They all are fluent in multi-languages and have excellent communication skills. All of our professional tour guides have their required licenses from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Hagia Sophia
The immortal Basilica of Hagia Sophia, now called the Ayasofya Museum, is unquestionably one of the finest buildings of all time. Built as a testament of faith by Justinian between 532 and 537 it was the center of Christian worship.
Topkapi Palace
On a spit of land at the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn stands the regal Topkapi Palace, the maze of buildings at the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries.
Blue Mosque
Facing St. Sophia stands the supremely elegant, six minareted imperial Sultan Ahmet Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet, the building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque thanks to its amazing blue tiles.
Top Tourist Attractions
If you are curious about the best tourist attractions in Istanbul, we recommend you to read our list. These places are the most visited places by local and foreign tourists. This will be a good resource before our profeessionel tour guides lead you to these attractions. Of course, if you have further questions and suggestions our professional staff would be more than happy to assist you.
We hired Umit for just a day touring around the main parts of Istanbul (the Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, and Topkapi Palace). He honestly gave one of the best tours that I’ve ever been on (and I’ve done a lot of traveling). He not only had a vast knowledge of the sites, but a love for them as well, which was demonstrated by him sharing not only the main facts and events of a place, but also delving into the stories. This in turn provided a much greater sense in us of the awe that each of the sites (particularly the Hagia Sophia) deserves. Umit was also professional, respectful, and as our tour was in the year of COVID, he took all the necessary health precautions (social distancing, always wearing a mask, etc.). He is also just a really enjoyable guy to be with and get to know, and after only a day with him, we consider him a dear friend.
I will without a doubt be going with Eskinazi next time I’m in Istanbul for a tour of some of the other sites I wasn’t able to see this time around.
Michael Butler – December 2020
Best Tour Guides
Experienced, knowledgeable, reliable, professional, licensed tour guides. Our tour guides don’t just take you around. They tell the beautiful story of a beautiful city.
No Waiting
Fast track at the museums and site entrances without waiting on the cues. Don’t waste your time waiting in long lines! Start your experience right away with our tour guides.
Luxury Vans
Best quality, licensed, air-conditioned Mercedes brand luxury minivans. All of our vans are hygienic, brand new, comfortable minivans. We will handle your transportation in the best way.
Tailored Services
Personalized, flexible, tailor-made itineraries that match individual needs. Every person is different. We focus on exceeding our guests’ needs by creating tailor-made services.
Guest Focused
Guest focused services and recommendations for utmost satisfaction. Our services focus on our guests. We make sure all of our recommendations are fit for our guests.
Experienced Drivers
Competent, experienced, professional, presentable drivers who know their ways in our city. They are experts on the roads of one of the largest cities in the world.
Our Services
Transfer Services
Pick-up / drop off services accompanied by our professional tour guides.
Guided Tours
High quality tours in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus by professional tour guides.
Layover Tours
Private Istanbul layover tours directly from the Istanbul Airport.
Hotel Reservations
Hotel reservations in the best areas in the city with best rates.
Restaurant Reservations
Reservations at the best located restaurants in the city.
Activity Reservations
Reservations for short activities (Turkish Bath etc.) in Istanbul.
Private Guided Tours of Istanbul
Brief History of Istanbul
Byzantium
Istanbul’s history dates back to the 7th century BC. According to legends, a man called Byzas from Megara, one of the city-states in Ancient Greece was looking for a colony for his people. He goes to the temple of Apollo in Delphi and asks where he should go. The oracle states that the lands on the opposite side of the “land of the blind” would be an ideal region.
Byzas sets out with this advice and arrives in the area, which we call Sultanahmet of today’s Istanbul. After being stranded in today’s Topkapı Palace area, he was so impressed by its beauty. King Byzas looks at the opposite side of the Bosphorus and spots an extraordinary scenery. He realizes that there is another colony there. Byzas thinks: “Why would these people build colonies in the face of such a beautiful place? These people must be blind!” Then he remembers what the oracle said to him, and he knew this was the right place.
The town takes its name from its founder, Byzas, and becomes Byzantium. Byzantium became a part of the Roman Empire in the 1st Century BC, but it remained a small town for several centuries.
Constantinople
Constantine became the emperor of the Roman Empire in 312, and that was a turning point for this small town. Constantine was aware Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was no longer safe from the barbarians. Since Rome was now an older city, there was no space for change and expansion. Constantine had a new town in mind. For this purpose, he began to look for a safe and less developed area within the empire, where he could build according to his ideas. When he arrived in Byzantium, this small city, which is a peninsula, he saw it as very suitable to realize this ideal. A wall that would surround the town would be a very suitable defense mechanism. Like Roman, this new capital would have seven hills.
Constantine, in 330, proclaims Byzantium as the capital of the Roman Empire and calls it Nova Roma, i.e., New Rome. After Constantine’s death, people changed the name of the town to Constantinople. It means the city of Constantine. Constantinople remained the capital of the Roman Empire for 1123 years. In 1453, the Ottomans conquered the city, and it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1453 to 1923.
Istanbul
Ataturk declared the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and the capital became Ankara because it was a more central location. The fact that Ankara is the capital does not mean Istanbul lost importance. Istanbul is still economically, culturally, and politically the most important city of Turkey.
Istanbul is one of the largest cities in the world. Because of its unique location and the bridge between both European and Asian continents. With the Bosphorus, it is one of the most beautiful and impressive cities in the world.
Tour Guides in Istanbul
During our private Istanbul tours, our guides walk with you through this vast history of these two empires; thus, you will experience different and fascinating cultures. You will love the outstanding art and architecture.
If you are interested in visiting Istanbul, where the East meets the West, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would be so happy to assist you in any way we can.
Let's Plan Your Trip!
If you are interested in the best Private Tours in Istanbul with an experienced, knowledgeable private tour guide, please contact us! Our private tours are the best option to enjoy the wonderful and complex sites and neighborhoods of Istanbul.
Let us make your time in Istanbul a memorable one!