BYZANTINE MONASTERIES OF CONSTANTINOPLE STEP BY STEP

Pick up from your hotel around 08:30am. This special walking tour covers the main monasteries of Byzantine Constantinople. We will see ruins of churches, Byzantine stone houses, historical cisterns, dungeons, columns, palaces etc. The highlight of the day is the church of the St. Saviour of Chora (Kariye Museum). You will be amazed how beautiful the mosaics and frescos are... Return to your hotel around 17:30. 

NOTES
• The tour includes pickups from hotels in Sultanahmet or Taksim area. There will be an extra charge for pickup service from other locations.
• Child aged 0-2 free of charge, %30 discount for child aged under 7 years old.
• This tour is regular. Please contact us for private tour options.

St. Polyeuktos Church (ruins) was an ancient Byzantine church built by then noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to St. Polyectus. It was considered the largest church in the city before the construction of Hagia Sophia. 
Pantokrator Church (Molla Zeyrek Mosque) was built by the Byzantine Empress Eirene Komnena and dedicated to Christ Pantokrator in the 12th century. The monastery consisted of a main church, a library and a hospital. Emperor John II Komnenos built another church on the north of complex. Two shrines were connected with a chapel, which became the imperial mausoleum (heroon) of the Komnenos and Palaiologos dynasties.
Today Zeyrek Mosque is the second largest extant religious building built by the Byzantines in Istanbul (after Hagia Sophia). 
Aspar Cistern was built in 459 AD. The cistern bears the name of the Goth General Aspar who was executed while in the service of Emperor Leon I. Having 152 m long edges, the cistern is the second biggest cistern in the city.
Pammakaristos Church (Fethiye Mosque) also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos, which converted into a mosque in the Ottoman period. It is also known as Fethiye Mosque, partly serves as a museum today and has the largest amount of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul after the Hagia Sophia and Chora Church.
Aetios Cistern one of the three huge ancient open cisterns. It now serves as a sports arena known as the Vefa Stadium.
Chapel of St. John The Forerunner (Hirami Ahmet Pasha Mosque) was an Eastern Orthodox church and it converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
Chora Church (Monastery of St. Saviour in Chora) The Kariye Musuem with its stunning mosaics is one of example though Istanbul has undergone major remodeling over the years. This small church has the richest collection of Byzantine mosaics in the city. The church was probably built in the 12th century on the site of building predating the walls. The name of the church comes from “in Chora”, meaning “in the country”.