Istanbul Old Town Tour 2025 | Sultanahmet & Historic Istanbul Travel Guide

Istanbul Old Town Tour 2025 | Sultanahmet & Historic Istanbul Travel Guide

What’s going on everybody? This is Highland Hopper TV travel highlights and today I’m going to show you Oldtown this damn bull. So we’re going to walk up here towards Hajia Sophia Sultaname show you some of the vibes around here. walking the main road. It is around 6:00 p.m. on Friday night. I’ve gone all around the European side. I haven’t really done too much on the Anatolia side. [Music] nice restaurant. Most of the sites that you’ll see will be on the uh European side. Grand Bazaar, Blue Moss, Hajas, Sophia, Galada Tower, Oldtown. They do have uh I think it’s called Caradoi over there. It’s a famous area. I haven’t been there yet. Over on the main channel, I’m going to make uh best areas to stay in Istanbul. Once I’ve explored the uh Asian side, I’ll have more insight into that. But most of the ones I’ve seen that I would recommend are on this side. The old town’s one of the areas. [Music] The old town isn’t where like the St. Regis or the Grand Hyatt JW or Hilton is at, but uh it is a good area for some nice hotels. Empty tram, no passengers. [Music] Today I went to some palaces top copy palace. Also [Music] went to the Basilica Serna today. That was cool. Just an ancient engineering marvel really. Here you can do lots of shopping in the old town. [Music] [Applause] I mean, there’s shopping all over here in Istanbul. It’s really a shoppers paradise. I’ve got to figure out where I’m going to go next. But I’ll be the first to say, “Excuse me, sir. I telework.” Bro, how are you? What’s up? What’s up, me? What’s up? What’s up? It’s okay. You want t-shirt? No, thank you. Someone put him up to that. He came up to me like that. I’m like not sure if that’s going to work for him long term, but he’ll figure it out. [Music] just trying to make a sale. But I’ve been approached like that so many times in Istanbul, especially me cuz apparently I look like total American. And uh when they see American, they’re like it’s the same line over and over. Hey bro, are you from the States? And then of course, yes. What part? Oh, really? Hey, I’ve got family there, or I’ve been there, or I want to go there. Hey, by the way, come over here. I want to show you my shop. First time you come to Istanbul. That’s the uh that’s the way they get you. You’ll see once I get closer into Sultan Met, there’ll be even more. The faster you walk and the less eye contact you make. the less they’ll approach you. But once you’re insulting them that Germany, what where are you from? Uh I’m from the US. Oh, really? I thought you are from Germany. No, no, I lived in Germany for 5 years. Oh, really? Studied in the medical program. That’s good. Uh uh walking. It’s okay. So, see, that’s the other line they go with. Uh, hey, you look like you’re German. Or, hey, you look like you’re Australian. [Music] Every so often when I’m walking around Oldtown, I have to check all my pockets, make sure I still got everything. People will walk up close to you. If you ever feel someone kind of touch or push you, check your pockets right away. I got pickpocketed one time and uh what it was was they were trying to pretend like they accidentally bumped into me and when they accidentally bumped into me, they went in my pocket. Smart, right? Got my attention on the wrong side. Boom. And then they were like, “Oh, so sorry. So sorry.” Took off. So it didn’t happen here, though. That happened in Vietnam. this morning when I walked down here. I would say by the time I was at this point, probably already had like three or four people trying to hawk me, meaning hawker trying to get my attention to go buy something at a shop. Seems like they’re probably off work by now. I made. I did film a walking tour going through the old or uh the bizaar area. I might post that. I didn’t talk during the whole thing. So, I might voice it over. Reason I didn’t talk during it, honestly, I was so tired. Every day I’m averaging over 15,000 steps. I was checking my uh fitness calculator. There was even a day I did 27,000. I think that was in London. I would say London, Paris, [Music] Zurich. Those are some cities I did a lot of walking a little bit in Edinburgh, Glasgow as well. London is massive. Absolutely massive. [Music] [Music] The area we’re coming up to is Sultan Att. [Music] That’ll be interesting. Uh, see what’s going on down there. I do need to go to Sophia. Sophia, I was looking at flights for late at night or early in the morning. Sometimes I like those like midnight flights because when you arrive at the airport for departure and arrival, it’s not as crowded or busy. An airport like uh Istanbul very busy at like middle of the day or even in the morning. So, I’ll try and see if I can get through there on a late night flight. It’s a nice little area of the old town right here. Once you get to where it’s salt and med I might actually walk all the way down to uh the old town. Depend how I feel. The amount of history in Istanbul is just beyond crazy. You know, people always want to go to Rome, but this was the capital of Rome. So you want the capital of Rome, go to Istanbul, former Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine part of Rome was here. This was the capital. I mean this fantastic city. Yeah. Napoleon Bonapart once said, “If the world was one, Istanbul, Constantinople would have been its capital.” So, let’s just say the capital of the world is here. Oh, sorry. Well, she picked it up, but then she put it on the grass. I don’t know about that. She going to pick it up. Put it in the trash. So, she picked it up and tossed it in the trash. I didn’t expect that. I mean, I was like, “Wow, she’s picking up the trash. Good citizen. She just threw it on the track on the grass.” All good. [Music] It’s the effort that counts, the thought that counts. [Music] Wow. So, the blue mosque right there. And then the hagya Sophia right there. Both are under construction. You can see the scaffolding around there. So, they’re they’ve just decided, hey, let’s do both at the same time. Why not? Makes sense. I mean, when they’re done with it, I’m sure it’s going to be incredible cuz these upgrades are definitely amazing. Oh, wow. I’m going to tell you this right now. Turkish food, amazing. There’s not too many cuisines in the world that are as just flavorful and delicious as Turkish. So I went into some of these palaces very very expensive. My goodness. Some things in Istanbul are very good price but going to like the palaces both palaces very expensive. [Music] But it doesn’t cost anything to go inside here. So that’s fantastic. Or the Blue Mosque. I don’t remember paying anything. So, I’m going to go inside here and then uh show you a little bit and then we’ll head towards the Grand Bazaar. So, it’s actually closed to go in there. So, I’ll uh keep going this way. I think it’s closed to uh people who are not of the the faith. So, they’re still letting people in, but they said I can’t go in. So, sorry. Not sure if there’s like a service going on or something. It says it’s open 24 hours, so I don’t know. But they said it was closed to 7:00. The one guy said go that way. The other guy said it’s closed. So just take that information close at 7. Try to remember that. I don’t know why one guy said it was open and if I went to the other exit, but the other guy was like, “No, no, no. It’s closed. It closes at 7:00.” But as you can see, people were still going in. So, might be a service going on. Oh, they got some rooftops here. This is a nice little street right here. Look at this cat. Lots of cats. [Music] Good vibes, huh? This is definitely where you want to be staying. Look at this Vogue Hotel. Perfect location. We all stop and get a drink here. Refreshment. One of these uh restaurants. Wouldn’t mind a little bit of uh some kebab. Keep up right here, man. It’s crazy cuz like if you keep walking that the look they give you is not it’s like a look of disappointment. They’re like, I can’t believe you’re not stopping here. Some Turkish are just so friendly and then some are like if you don’t want to buy from them, you just cross the line. Yeah, that Salt in the Met area where I was just at, that’s usually where like around like 3:00 or 4 in the afternoon, people will just be asking you questions about coming to their shop. Well, I’d say from probably 10 in the morning till 5 at night. So, I’m going to look at the map to see if I’m on the right path to get to the bazaar, but I think it closes at 7:00. So, I’m not going to be able to go inside there. But I will be able to go. [Music] Uh uh walking down the road there’s like side streets. I don’t know if they’re still open or not. Beautiful city. for you to stay here if you want. Ah, Grand Bazaar. Here we go. So, I mean, I would totally eat at most of these restaurants, but if a guy asks me to come in and then if I say no and he gives me a look of just total disgust, probably wouldn’t go back there. Usually the way to get me as a customer is like if I say no, it doesn’t it doesn’t mean no, I don’t want to go there. It just means not right now. As you guys can see, I’m making a video and I’ve passed many different places. Obviously, I’m not going to be able to go to every place that asks me and in this case, I’m not going to any places cuz I’m making a video. But I have gone to many places when I eat, when I shop. I mean, I’ve bought tea. I bought earrings. You can see got some new earrings. Those are nice. Got a new belt, wallet. I mean, I spend money here. Not like I just come here and just chill. I mean, if you come here, you got to spend some money, guys. But you can’t spend money to everyone that asks you. And the rug thing. How many rugs can you buy? How much tea can you buy? That’s the thing. Turkish rugs are beautiful. Get them for your family. Send them home for sure. cuz he go to the dance. So, we’re coming up to where the Grand Bazaar area is where so many uh this is a good time to talk about ATMs. Not all ATMs are created the same. Some will charge you 10% of whatever you take out. Some will just charge you a flat fee. The best that I’ve seen was 500 LRA. 500 L for a transaction comes out to around like 12 to$14 for a withdrawal. Doesn’t matter how much you’re withdrawing, whether you’re withdrawing 3,000 or 5,000 or 1,000. So, it’s better to just do a big withdrawal. But yeah, this is where the Grand Bazaar is. Here’s Gold Park Plaza. Another good location. My phone just told me that I’ve broke a new record for steps. Let’s see how many steps I’ve gotten today. Because you have to understand it says you doubled your goal. Didn’t know I had a goal. Let’s see what it says. This is an hour behind. So this the the number that they’re giving me now. 13,801 is before I started this. So that’s just today before I did this video. I don’t know how many steps this walk is. [Music] Usually if you go this way, you’ll come across a lot of shops. I walk a lot. I’ve I’ve went all across Europe. This is actually my last Europe. Once I cross into Anatolia, that’s officially Asia. This is like the edge of Europe here. Let’s see here. Yeah. So, it looks like most of these shops are closed in the daytime. All of this is open. So, I’m going to end it here. Good tour. See you on the next one from wherever I go. [Music]

Explore the heart of Istanbul’s Old Town (Sultanahmet District) in 2025! 🇹🇷 Walk with us through the city’s most iconic historic sites, ancient streets, and vibrant bazaars. This guided tour covers the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar, Basilica Cistern, and more.

Whether it’s your first time in Turkey or you’re returning to soak in the history, this video is your perfect Istanbul Old Town travel guide.

📌 Highlights of this tour:

Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque

Topkapi Palace & Basilica Cistern

Grand Bazaar & Spice Market

Sultanahmet Square & Hippodrome

Travel tips for 2025 visitors

Perfect for travelers, history lovers, and anyone planning a trip to Istanbul!

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