After a morning orientation, sightseeing tour of Istanbul, you'll participate in your first Turkish cooking lesson. During your Istanbul cooking tour, you will taste various flavors of Turkey from different regions, preparing lunch which you will enjoy!

After lunch, visit Topkapi Palace, the great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries housing an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle, and enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed.

You will also visit Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque, across from St. Sophia built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet, it is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. Hippodrome, ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races, with the three monuments; the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. Overnight in Istanbul.

You will be picked up at 8:30 a.m. from your hotel for a daily tour of old Istanbul city. Visit St Sophia; this ancient basilica, built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century, is one of the architectural marvels of all time.

You will then visit the Grand Spice Bazaar which is a unique atmosphere with reasonable prices for your shopping on many exotic spices and herbs, Turkish baklava, Turkish delights, Turkish coffee, nuts and fruits, small souvenirs such as ceramic handicrafts, evil eyes totems, all-natural olive oil, soaps, and many other goods in souvenir shops and stores.

After the tour, return to the hotel for a rest. In the evening, depart for your belly dancing and folklore class; this will be a very memorable class learning belly dancing techniques and folklore dance. You will learn the special moves and how to get the attention of the audience. Have dinner at the restaurant. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, check out from the hotel. TravelShopTurkey hopes your cooking tour was a memorable one and they look forward to seeing you in the future on another tour. Have a safe trip back home and thanks for choosing TravelShopTurkey!