Private Guided Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace with Skip Line

Eden is an excellent who has a thorough knowledge of historical and cultural background of the sites included in the tour. We recommend him to other visitors.

Amazing time with murat our guide who show us basilic citerne and palais topkiaki with a really interesting story about Istanbul and tradition of the city. "incontournable" if you visit Istanbul.

We took this tour on our first full day in Istanbul, and it was the perfect start to our vacation. Our tour guide Murat was friendly, attentive, and extremely knowledgeable. If we had tried to do these tours on our own, we would never have known half of the historical details he shared during the hours we spent with him — we learned so much that the rest of our time in Istanbul was better because of it. Definitely recommend!

I had a private tour with Murat. I can’t say enough about what a pleasant and memorable day this was. Murat’s deep knowledge of the history of the sites and the surrounding area is remarkable. I highly recommend this tour to understand the rich history and culture of Istanbul.

I hired Murat as a single female traveler from the USA. I also only had 1 full day to explore Istanbul, so I wanted to see all the top sights in 1 day. Murat was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. He was very professional, told me so much about the history of every place we went, allowed me to tell him the sights I didn't want to miss, watched out for my safety, AND braved rain & cold temps (3⁰ Celcuus) all day to show me around! He is well worth the money!

We booked this trip for 200 Euro per person and got tickets included with queue skip for the Cisterns, Hagia Sofia and walk around and detailed history of many locations in Sultan Ahmed. Our guide Erdem was very friendly. Highly recommended.

Everything was perfect from the pick up from the airport in limousine vans, the hotel reservations, the walking tours, the internal flights and subsequent transfers(Capadocia and Ephesus), and the return to Istambul.

There was constant updates and monitoring by the company to make sure all was ok and fast response time to any queries that we had. For a safe and hassle free trip to Turkey I would recommend this company!!!!!

Thank you Huseyin for going the extra mile and make it a memorable experience!!!!!!!

Murat was a superb guide and provided so much interesting historical context and stories about the sites.

As we age, we tend to value private guides for the time and effort they save. We hired Erdem for two days based on a recommendation from our hotel. He was a wonderful guide for Istanbul History, he knew everything about the locations we visited Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and when we went on a Bosphorus Boat Tour.

He was extremely valuable both as a translator and a guide. He had direct access to "skip the line" tickets (not included with the guide, you pay) so we never waited more than 2 minutes for entry to any location.

Had my wife, daughter, and I planned a little better we could have really maximized day two. Erdem was so efficient we hit the majority of our desired sites on day one. If we thought more we could have better used him on day two. He offered a number of suggestions but we were unsure of what was right for us. He will advise but the choice is of course up to you.

Additionally he knows many delicious local restaurants and can help explain the dishes.

Bottom Line:

1. Do a little advanced planning to maximize your experience

2. Let the guide know what you are and are NOT interested in shopping for: Carpets, scarves, leather goods etc. He has relationships with some vendors who offered discounts. Of course discounts are relative so know what the item is (quality, construction) and be able to recognize a good price.

Our tour guide was very helpful and walked us thru the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace. He provided interesting history and facts specific to the location. Some in detail facts some were shorter. Would be good to read up on the sites before visiting to add to the visit. Overall happy with the experience.