Parts Unknown-Alternative Istanbul Tour - Suleymaniye Mosque

Duration: 2h and 15min
Languages: English, Spanish
Quality Verified Registered on February 03, 2018

We are a group of friends and official guides from Istanbul. We are in love with our city and we would like to share it with you. For this reason, we have decided to offer our travelers some tours to discover its charm together. Passion, enthusiasm and professionalism characterize us and will be the perfect ingredients to make you experience Istanbul as we do.

Show more
  • Free booking and cancellation
    Free payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free

Tour description

This tour is a great alternative if you have already seen Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque part, or looking for a more off-the-beaten-track-free tour!

It covers the main attractions of our city but mainly focuses on the hidden gems that are well and truly "off the beaten track" and gives you facts you wouldn't know or notice walking around by yourself.

We will try to explain to you how it feels to be a Turkish person by telling stories about Turkish weddings, social life, daily routines, foods, and much more

Note: Our tour guides are licensed, they studied 4 years to be a guide and this is their full-time job. They will give you plenty of clues that you can save time and money. Recommended tipping at least 10 Euros, 10 Us Dollars or 300 TRY

 

Places to Visit: 

  • Soleymaniye Mosque
  • Beyazıt Square
  • Ancient Book Market( Sahaflar Carsısı) 
  • Beyazit Mosque 
  • Corlulu Ali Pasa Madrasah
  • Istanbul University
  • Markets of Tahtakale and Mahmutpasa
  • Ottoman Cementry
  • Wooden ottoman houses 
  • Suleymaniye view point


 



During this tour;

We will first have a short visit to a local hangout place Corlulu Ali Pasa Madrasah and see why the Italian people say ‘you smoke like a Turk’

We will then make our way to one of Istanbul’s oldest markets- the Old Book Bazaar Sahaflar Çarşısı; located on the site of the Byzantine Empire’s book and paper market and talk about the education system in Turkey

Visit the glorious Suleymaniye Mosque and learn about Sultan Süleyman!

We will tell you then about the wedding ceremonies, arranged marriages! We will also touch subjects like LGBT, how politics are in our country from a local perspective!

We will also help you meet Turkish Jimmy Hendrix of the kebabs! 

We will visit 15th century Beyazit mosque(no touristy) 

We have personally designed this tour for our guests to really get into the crevices of our great city. Your day will be filled with abundant information, fascinating stories, and experiences that you could not have with any other tour guide company!

Nothing unexpected or wonderful is likely to happen if you have an itinerary in Paris filled with the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.”  So we believe the same for Istanbul! 

Are you ready for a local adventure?  




İmportant notes: 

1) if you are are group more than 8 people we don't accept your reservation even you make seperate bookings. Your guide has the right not to accept your group if you come as a big group. This tour is designed for solo travellers couples and small groups. Please contact us if you have a big group so we can arrange private tour for you.

2) if you have a classic tour same morning you won't be able to have enough time to arrive on time for our tour. Please don't book our tour If you have a classic tour in the morning.

3) the tour ends in the garden of Suleymaniye Mosque. After the tour ends, we like to show you one of the best kebabs in town.(optional and extra-fairly priced) and you have a option to sample Turkish delights and fruit teas . If you re willing you can follow your guide after the tour ends.(which is completely optional)

Thanks


Show more
  • Meeting point:
    Mimar hayrettin mah, Beyazıt, Yeniçer...
    Mimar hayrettin mah, Beyazıt, Yeniçeriler Cd. no 39 /1, 34110 Fatih/İstanbul, Turkey
    View on map

    I'll be waiting with a yellow umbrella in front of Corlulu Ali Pasha Madrasah, at the entrance

How much does this tour cost?

Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).

Tour opinions

794 ratings
4.9
By category
Professionalism
4.9
Fun
4.77
Expression
4.83
Quality
4.82
Route
4.8
Generic
5 stars
729
4 stars
49
3 stars
14
2 stars
1
1 star
1
Darragh 30 Sep 2023

Verified booking
Travelled alone - Sep 2023
Burak was a great guide to the back streets and back stories of Old Istanbul. He shared a lot of personal stories and information that brought the walk to life for us. Thanks also for the Börek and Turkish Delights.
Saskia 28 Sep 2023

Verified booking
Travelled in group - Sep 2023
The tour was okay. The guide was nice and tried to make a interesting and humorous tour for us. I thought there would be more stops/more distance through Istanbul. In my opinion it would be nice if that could changed. I’m used to that from other tours in different cities. 👍🏻
Raul 26 Sep 2023
Monterrey

Verified booking
Travelled in couple - Sep 2023
Muy buena información y además súper interesante sobre aspectos que no se ven en los lugares turísticos. Este tour te ayuda a entender más sobre la cultura turca. Además el guía nos ha explicado y ha llevado a lugares muy interesantes. Ampliamente recomendado.
Riitta 26 Sep 2023
Lahti

Verified booking
Travelled alone - Sep 2023
A very competent guide with a good sensei of humor and appropriate irony. In 2,5 hours, he managed to tell a lot about islam, politics, the life of the people of Istanbul etc And of course I saw a lot of places that I wouldn't have seen by myself. I go Back to the book bazaar we visited right away tomorrow:). Full marks of a trip.
Tedly 25 Sep 2023

Verified booking
Travelled in couple - Sep 2023
This tour was about culture, which was interesting, but it wasn’t at all about “parts unknown” or “off the beaten path.” We have taken those types of tours with Guruwalk in other cities and in those other places we actually do go to places unknown by most tourists. This wasn’t as promised. However, the culture info was interesting— although the guide gave wrong or conflicting anecdotal information, such as: Turkey has the second highest number of Starbucks after the US (it doesn’t - that’s China); the blue eye is inspired by a peacock (what about the Medusa tale we heard on another Guruwalk??); the new iPhone costs $2,900 in Turkey (what?) Hopefully the culture info was generally correct. As stupid tourists, what do we know? We empathize with Türkiye’s financial crisis, and this tour covered a lot of that. We went to a small gift shop at the end that sells tea and soaps and gift sets. We made a small tea purchase to help the local economy. And the tea is tasty. Overall, we learned things (we hope) but the tour is really not as advertised.
Show 794 reviews

Who is this tour for?

Accessibility
Non suitable for people with reduced mobility.
Groups
Does not accept large group reservations.
Pets
Not suitable for pets.

What should you know?

Minimum of attendees
A minimum of 5 people is required for the tour.
Additional costs:
The tour does not require the payment of entrance fees or additional expenses.
Free cancellation
If you will not be able to attend the tour, please cancel your booking, otherwise the guide will be waiting for you.
When do you want to go?
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Show more
See availability