Halve dag rondleiding door Istanbul: Hagia Sophia, Basillica Cisterne en Grand Bazaar

Had problemen met contact opnemen met gids. Werd verteld dat we contact moesten opnemen om het ophalen van het hotel te organiseren. We hebben motel om te bellen en veronderstellen om ons terug te bellen, maar nooit gedaan. Motel ging opnieuw op de dag van activiteit en na het opnemen tot 9. 30 uur (denk eraan om om 9 uur te openen) vertelde eindelijk dat ze ons zouden ophalen. Werkelijke rondleiding door Sophia Basilica en het reservoir was goed. Ik waardeerde het echter NIET om tijd te verspillen / ongeplande verkooppraatjes van een 'tapijt' van een half uur. We hoopten op een verfrissende stop en vertelden dat we het moesten doen, alleen door een verkooppraatje van de plaatselijke tapijthandelaar te zitten en alleen koffie of thee aanboden (ik snakte naar koud drankje), Dit werd gevolgd door haast door de bazaar en werd bijna onderworpen aan een ander verkooppraatje door een lokale handelaar in Chinese kom, maar we 'trokken de stekker eruit' en zeiden dat we er genoeg van hadden. Gids was informatief en genoot van de stortbak en sophia hagia, bazaar was gehaast en het duurde slechts ongeveer 3 - 4 uur (op ons verzoek hoewel als geen ander verkooppraatje wilde). Vond dit erg vervelend en niet volgens de normen van de viator, vind het niet erg, zelfs 10 minuten promotie van de handelaar, maar een half uur of meer doorbrengen was erg vervelend en we hadden een goede verfrissing nodig.

This tour was quite a bit of a disappointment. The visit to Hagia Sophia was a nice visit and the only real saving grace of the tour. However one should be aware that the time the guide shares information about the place is NOT substantial, and you are then left to your own devices. In many ways, I could have easily gone there on my own. The Basilica Cistern would have been fine... except the guide only shared some urban legends and did not bother sharing the true historic reasons for many of the things found in the cistern. Then came the uncomfortable part... a historic demonstration of turkish carpet weaving at a carpet shop. A poor excuse for what was in essence an extended sales pitch that took the better part of an hour. I had read earlier reviews so was prepared for it, but it did not make things any less uncomfortable for our entire group. The only saving grace was the air conditioning which provided some comfort from the heat. But this was easily the longest part of the entire tour and to have an entire sales team try to pressure you into buying a carpet is NOT the reason I booked it. The guide even warned us not to go back there alone later... if that means he wont get a commission if we do or if there is a more sinister reason, I have no idea... but hardly a good sign in any event. And finally the grand bazaar... this could have been a nice visit if not for our tour guide. At first he was nice and even showed us the way to shops... but he very deliberately tried to separate us even when we explicitly told him that we wanted to stay in a small group, something that frustrated him greatly it is easier to pressure someone into buying if they are separated after all. And when he showed us the way to shops he criticised us if we did not buy things immediately and could not accept that we would not buy anything in a store he had brought us to. In short, I do not recommend this tour and would suggest that if you want to see the Hagia Sophia and the other sites you do so on another tour or even on your own.

It was a good tour the guide was informative. The historical references and the magnificent architecture at Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern leaves you spellbound. Good to book with a definite skip-the-lines experience. Long queues mostly at these popular monuments. Sadly, Grand Bazaar was closed being Sunday, however, the guide took us to the spice bazaar, more commonly called an Egyptian Bazaar.