Europe and Asia Full-Day Tour with Camlica Hill, Boat Trip and Lunch

Çamlıca Hill and the view over two continents

Çamlıca Hill in Üsküdar is the highest point of the Asian side of Istanbul and the viewpoint our Istanbul team sends every first-time visitor to. From the terraced gardens, with their fountains, rose beds and old-style wooden kiosks, you look straight down the Bosphorus to the bridge, across to the domes and towers of the European shore, and south to the Princes' Islands on a clear day. Morning is the best time to visit Çamlıca Hill, when the light comes from behind you and the air is still crisp.

The hill has long been a favourite picnic and tea spot for local families, and the kiosks serve tea and Turkish coffee if you want a quick cup. Allow about half an hour here for photographs before the short drive to Çamlıca Mosque, which you can already see rising on the neighbouring summit.

Çamlıca Mosque, the largest mosque in Turkey

Çamlıca Mosque opened in 2019 on the hill above Üsküdar and is the largest mosque in Turkey, with room for tens of thousands of worshippers, six minarets and a central dome in the classical Ottoman tradition. Because of its position it is visible from almost every part of the city, and inside the scale of the main dome and the calligraphy around it is remarkable. The complex also contains a museum of Islamic civilisation, a library and an art gallery.

Your guide explains how the mosque was designed in the style of the great sixteenth-century imperial mosques and points out the details of its tiles and woodwork. As in every mosque in Istanbul, shoes are removed at the door and visitors dress modestly; women are given a scarf if needed, and the visit pauses briefly if a prayer begins. About 45 minutes are spent here.

Beylerbeyi Palace on the Bosphorus

Down on the waterfront in the Beylerbeyi quarter, just south of the Bosphorus bridge, stands Beylerbeyi Palace, the summer residence built for the Ottoman court in the 1860s and used to host visiting royalty. Entry is included on this tour, and your guide leads you through the marble pool hall, the reception rooms hung with Bohemian crystal chandeliers and laid with Hereke carpets, and the harem apartments, before a walk in the terraced garden with the two small bathing pavilions on the quay.

Beylerbeyi Palace is closed on Mondays; on that day the tour visits Çamlıca Tower, the tallest structure in Istanbul with its observation decks, or Miniaturk, the park of scale models of Turkey's monuments, instead. Lunch at a local restaurant follows the palace visit, with halal Turkish dishes as is the norm in Istanbul; drinks are paid separately.

Eyüp Sultan Mosque and Pierre Loti Hill

Crossing to the European shore, the tour reaches Eyüp at the head of the Golden Horn, where Eyüp Sultan Mosque surrounds the shrine of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet who died during the first Arab siege of Constantinople in the seventh century. The mosque is one of the most sacred places in Turkey and is always busy with worshippers, pilgrims and families celebrating circumcisions in white costumes; visitors are welcome, with the same modest dress and quiet behaviour as in any mosque.

From Eyüp the cable car climbs over the old cemetery with its leaning Ottoman tombstones to Pierre Loti Hill, named after a French writer who loved the view from here. The terrace café at the top looks down the whole length of the Golden Horn to the Galata Tower and the old city; if the cable car is out of service, the vehicle drives you up instead.

The two-hour Bosphorus boat trip towards sunset

The day ends on the water with a two-hour Bosphorus boat trip, boarding on the European shore in the late afternoon so that the return leg catches the sunset. The boat passes Dolmabahçe Palace, the mosque at Ortaköy under the bridge, the wooden waterfront mansions called yalı, the fortress of Rumeli Hisarı and, on the Asian side, Beylerbeyi Palace that you visited earlier, now seen as it was meant to be seen, from the sea.

The guide points out the landmarks on both shores, and the open deck gives the best photographs as the light turns gold on the water. Bring a light jacket, as the breeze on the water is cooler than on land even in summer. After the boat trip the vehicle returns everyone to their hotels, usually between 19:30 and 20:30 depending on traffic.