Sightseeing Tours in Istanbul

I loved learning (the first baby steps) of such a long lasting and beautiful tradition with Ebru. She’s a fantastic teacher and a super warm host. She brings out the most creative you with ease. And the technique is very easy to grasp for a beginner. The place is lovely as well, including a nice terrace where we had coffee and tea overlooking old Istanbul.

I really recommend this class to everyone. The hosts were very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the art so much we stayed overtime. Delightful experience!

We had the guided tour which was great. Necla showed us the hidden Istanbul. Would definitely recommend this!

i had the most fun learning Ebru with bettul and her husband. theyre both really lovely people and very good teachers.

Necla was a very intuitive guide on our day out and about in Istanbul. She communicated with us prior to the day to ask of our interests,preferences, diet specifications etc and planned the day accordingly. Her insights were fascinating and it was a real pleasure to experience life here through her eyes. She provided further tips on things of interest to do and see and we could highly recommend this day that was well considered and enjoyed.

Myself and partner did the Turkish Marbling course offered. It was a great, relaxing way to spend a morning and leaves you with a unique, handmade memento of your time in Istanbul. Thanks to Betul who is fantastic and very patient! My special thanks to Hakan who made us feel so welcome and accommodated!

Great teacher, cool studio and a ton of beautiful art work to take home. Wonderful to be taught a new art technique that is authenticity Turkish using natural materials. Great value and very hospitable teacher. Would highly recommend!

We just got back from Istanbul and the I booked the marbling class for the last day. I was not expecting to have such experience. The artist talked about the whole process then walked us through step by step allowing us to creat more elaborate are as we went. I have very little talent but even so I was proud of my work. My daughter, on the other hand, is very talented and caught on right away. Even though the lesson was supposed to be a couple of hours, Ali worked with my daughter for double the amount of time. The attached picture shows what you can creat having never done this before. After we finished working we were welcome on the terrace for tea and cookies. I don't think there is a better view in all of Istanbul. We had to allow the paper to dry so we took a walk to the spice market to do a bit of shopping for kitchen items. When we walked back to the studio our artwork was dry and ready to take home. The day was certainly not spent waiting on long lines to view tourist attractions rather experiencing something fun and unique. An A+ company giving A+ experience.

We had the privilege of this being our second visit to the blessed Sahabe of Istanbul. The blessings received are priceless. I would totally recommend anyone visiting this beautiful city not to leave without doing ziyaret of the blessed Sahabe. This company is thoroughly professional & it is commendable that they are keeping alive the history of the blessed Sahabe in Istanbul . This is not something that can be done without guidance as most tombs are scattered around the city,some in obscure locations. Time was allocated at each place for respectful contemplation & prayers. We had the full benefit of Dervish Erol's expert knowledge & spiritual insight. He brought the stories of the Sahabe alive with great eloquence. His words were poetic, translated with great care from Turkish by Hakan, who was amazing. Many thanks for a memorable day. May Allah bless you with every success in your endeavours.

Necla was a very good guide. She was knowledgeable, interesting and friendly without being too much of any of these things! She took us to places we would never have found without her - and was canny enough to order half portions so we were able to try lots of different delicious foods without exploding! She also adapted the tour to suit our requirements, including a Turkish Delight shop, and an authentic Turkish coffee cafe. She even helped us bargain in the Grand Bazaar! I would thoroughly recommend this tour - although go with an empty stomach.

Our guide was very sweet and gave us a great tour through Istanbul. She also gave us tips for things to see, where to buy the best Turkish delight and beautiful small vintage shops. We would definitely recommend her for anyone who wants to see Istanbul like a local.

There are many sights to see in Istanbul of course but if you want to have a more personal encounter with its citizens, I’d highly recommend the Artisans tour with Duygu in the Beyolglu District. It was a refreshing change from the tourist venues as we had a chance to have conversations (with Duygu frequently acting as our translator) with Turks who don’t often interact with Americans. They are involved in trades which are vanishing. Some had been in their businesses for over 50 years and were eager to tell us how they went about their work and their history in the area. (One seemed so interested in talking to us that he bought us tea, which was promptly put before us!) Duygu seemed to have a special rapport with them so it was a very enjoyable time. Duygu was an amazing resource not only in telling us about the artisans but answered questions about the city, its history and what is current in Turkish politics. She is friendly, and has a warm, thoughtful way of talking. It was so great to spend some time talking to her about her experience in Istanbul. She made the tour quite special. I was resistant to spend so much money on a tour but it was money well spent!

My experience of our trip to Istanbul was transformed by this tour with Duygu. At one point, when we were spending a lot of time at one spot, I expressed concern about that, and Duygu said not to worry, that we would finish the tour no matter how long it took. I didn't really time the tour after that, but I can say that we did finish the tour, and we were relaxed and enjoyed every artisan we visited. There was no mention of us buying anything anywhere. I did buy a beautiful small glass vase at the glass making place, which was not expensive. The man there did a demonstration for us, which happened at several places. Sometimes we talked about the political situation as well as the crafts they were doing. All of them were glad to see Duygu and us, and they were friendly and welcoming, including one place where the man treated us with tea. We visited a man restoring tin interiors to copper bowls for a restaurant, a glass craftsman, father and son wood carvers, a woman who makes a Turkish musical intrument, a metal artist, a man who gold leafs frames and furniture, and an architect who is restoring a large, interior court area and former orphanage to be a ... we'll have to go back to see! He showed us many things including beautiful architectural features that he has collected over the years. There were three similar things he was not sure of, and I was able to identify them as parts of stations of the cross from a Catholic church. That was a special encounter for me, and there were several such. The last artisan we visited was not in when we got there, so while we waited for him to return to his shop, we went for lunch at a nearby restaurant that Duygu knew. It was excellent. We returned there a few days later and had another delicious meal. Duygu is quite knowledgeable and informative. She is a gentle spirit who is well received by the people we visited. She freely shares her knowledge and gladly answered all our questions about the city. If I return to Istanbul, I might do this same tour again. I would certainly do another tour with Duygu.

We met our tour guide Necla right on time who proceeded to ask us a few key questions and, based on the our interest and preferences, designed a 3 hour walking tour of Beyoglu District. We wanted to acquaint ourselves with how contemporary Turks live, eat and relax in this historic yet very residential neighborhood. She led us through backstreets, covered passage ways, a local fish market, the city's oldest Turkish Delight purveyor, a subterranean wine bar, and a 16th C caravan sarayi designed by a Genoese that currently serves as a workshop coop for repairmen, machinists etc. We received great recs for bfast, lunch, and dinner. Nothing touristy and extremely reasonable. Hands down, one of the best eating out experiences we had was at Zubehir Ocakbasi. Can't thank Necla enough for her patience, kindness, and hospitality. Our vacation would not have been the same without it.

Four of us were given a tour by Necla thru the Beyoglu District (we were based right next to the Galata Tower) and had a delightful time with her. She has a wonderful sense of humor, clearly knows the out-of-the-way places for food and shopping, and enjoys showing off 'back street' Istanbul. She showed us a subterranean wire bar which we of course returned to the next day - great selections. Recommended Subehir Ocakbasi for dinner - off-the-chart delicious and great fun. We also had a terrific breakfast a few days later at the restaurant where she worked and plan to stay in touch. Highly recommended.

We spent a fantastic afternoon with Necla who showed my husband, his parents and myself all around the the Beyoglu area. Necla had so much knowledge about the area and her English was excellent. We were staying in Beyoglu and did the tour on our very first afternoon and were so glad that we did as we felt less like tourists and more like locals after this! Istanbul is such an enormous city it was lovely to feel like we could confidently walk around and knew where were the safer areas and which to avoid at night. Necla took us to a range of shops selling ceramics and other homewares as we requested and showed us many restaurants we could return to later. Necla even showed us how to buy a travel card so we could easily travel around using the tram later during our week in Istanbul. We did the 3 hour Orientation to Beyoglu tour and did a lot of walking which we enjoyed. The tours can be tailored depending on your level of fitness. I would highly recommend this tour if you are staying locally, thank you Necla!

We took the tour for Sufi ceremony at Silivrikapi. It was perfect, exactly as I expected. When we book, we were afraid that it could be a touristic attraction but it was not. We were among real followers and not tourists. Thank you Hakan and thank you Erol.

Had a wonderful experience at the Dervish Ceremony which was authentic and unlike others that are more catered for tourists. Excellent service by our contact point, Mr Hakan, who's very engaging and friendly! Really enjoyed our conversations with him sharing on football and Istanbul. Thank you Hakan and Istanbul Life! We truly enjoyed ourselves!