Landmarks in Istanbul

Ticketing was easy, Blue Mosque was beautiful, and our tour guide was excellent. Cenker was very knowledgeable, fun, lively and very accommodating.

Meeting point easy to find. Quick to receive tickets (once giving the reserve papers of the app) and go inside the palace.

Dolmabahce looks much more interesting from the outside than Topkapi. There was a feeling of absolute emptiness in the old residence: neither on the street, nor inside, nor on the buildings themselves, there were absolutely no decorations, statues, moldings, in general, any decorations (except for marble-gilded hammams). Here, the buildings are decorated more strictly (in contrast to the absolutely chaotic development of the old complex) and at the same time intricate: a park with a geometric-style slope, fountains everywhere, a beautiful embankment and everything else -- wherever you stumble, you can find something interesting. After exploring the palace, we decided to wander around the neighborhood a little more, and suddenly we came across a gallery. I was very pleasantly surprised by the gallery. I can't understand why it's filled with so many cool paintings (from what I can remember: the entire Aivazovsky hall, several halls of the Barbizon School, halls dedicated to the history of the Ottoman Empire, plus many quite interesting paintings by Turkish authors), given that the ticket cost 30 euros, and the existence of this gallery was not advertised at all. At the same time, even without an audio guide, there was enough description in each room to appreciate paintings by artists and trends that you had never heard of. As a result, we spent much more time in the gallery than in the palace itself.

I absolutely loved the rich history and stunning architecture of both Dolmabahçe Palace and the Hagia Sophia. Walking through Dolmabahçe felt like stepping back into the time of the Ottoman sultans—the palace is incredibly ornate and offers insight into how the last Ottoman rulers lived. Hagia Sophia was just as impressive, with its incredible blend of Christian and Islamic history and breathtaking mosaics and domes. The stories behind both sites are fascinating, and I appreciated learning more through the tour. The only downside was the ticketing process. While the “skip the line” access was helpful for entry tickets, it didn’t apply to the security check. It would have been great if there was a separate fast-track lane for that too. Still, overall a great experience and definitely worth visiting!