Pacha Tours company has proposed the following itinerary for me, for a first and solo trip to Turkey in May or June.
I haven’t done a lot of research on Istanbul yet. Please comment on the sights that are included, and those that perhaps should be. Thanks
Day 1, arrive Izmir via Istanbul. Stay overnight.
Day 2, tour Ephesus, fly to Istanbul in the evening.
Day 3, Tour Istanbul: Haghia Sophia, Rustempasa Mosque, Spice Market. Bosphorus cruise. Visit St Savior in Chora (Kariye museum), Eyup Mosque, and a café in the Golden Horn.(What is the Golden Horn?) Most Istanbul visits seem to include a Bosphorus cruise. I happily do “touristy’ from time to time but is it an essential Istanbul experience? (as one example, I don’t think of a gondola ride in Venice as an important experience.)
Day 4: Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, Grand Bazaar.
Day 5: Neve Shalom synagogue, Ahrida Synagogue, Zulfaris Jewish museum, Ortakoy. I requested some touring time in the old Jewish area—this is a whole day—is it overkill?
Missing from this itinerary (that is included in several other Istanbul tour itineraries): a visit to Dolmabahce palace. Will I regret not seeing that? What else?

Is Pacha Tours providing the transportation in Istanbul? Will you have a guide? Because if you do it on your own, bring your running shoes; whereas with a guide time might be used more efficiently. In any case, dawdling will not be allowed.

We liked Dolmabahce Palace, but I wouldn't consider it a must-see. The location is very pretty, though.
On another note, allow a half-day to see Topkapi Palace. It's fabulous.

You will probably need advance permission to visit the synagogues. Will Pacha be aranging that?

Agree that Dolmabahce Palace is not a must-see. I would definitely do the Bosphorus cruise.

Pacha will be providing a car,and where needed, a vehicle.
Yes, Pacha will arrange in advance for the synagogues, and all other venues.
thanks for these and any other replies.

I am sorry, but I LOVE Dolamabahce Palace. Walking through it is like taking a tour of Liberace's house. It is so garish that it takes your breath away! You will not believe the blood-red carpets and crystal chandeliers. You can also see Ataturk's monastic, stark bedroom and his giant black telephone on the nightstand.

Chora is an ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE.

You MUST visit the Harem at the Topkapi Palace. To skip it would be a major mistake. I don't care how long the line is, see the harem.

One interesting thing you will probably see on your Bosphorus cruise is the home of the Koc family, the richest family in Turkey. Otherwise, it is somewhat boring.

Thin

I was in Istanbul for 9 days last April. We loved it. We stayed in Galata area - the heart of the old Jewish neighborhood. I do have a report posted if you care to search it on fodors. Your first day in Istanbul looks like a lot to me. I'd forgo the cruise.
You can actually see the sites in Sulthanehmet the first day: Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace and then walk around that area there is a lot to see. The underground sisterns are lovely to and easy to see.
Day 2: You could go to Balat and see the Chora Church - the mosaics were good but I am not sure I'd go there if I only had 3 days in Istanbul. I know everyone goes to the Grand Bazaar but we hated it it was too pushy and overwhelming.

You should also go to Beyoglu to Istiklal Cadesi - it is a pedestrian only street and the Flower Passage is very cool with restuarants and great music. It is a good area to go at night and also visit the Galata Tower.

You can spend at least a whole day doing the Jewish tour- we had a private guide who met us at 9:00 and we did the tours of synagogues and the neighbhorhood - also went to Ortikoy and that was one of our favorite neighbhorhoods - we spent our last day there. You will love Istanbul. The food, people, music and vibration is wonderful.

You'll probably want to do the Spice (Egyptian) Market at the same time as the Grand Bazaar since they are so close together that it would be a waste of time to come back. Both are the types of places that you probably do want to visit while you are here, but neither will be a highlight of your trip. One brief visit ought to more than satisfy.
As for the Bosphorus cruise; I think that being on the Bosphorus is one of the more relaxing and pleasant ways to pass some time in the city. Whether you'd agree or not will definitely depend on the weather and how much you might enjoy sitting back and watching the shoreline and city pass you by. If you don't feel inclined to commit to the entire Bosphorus, there are several ferry routes that you could take a shorter trip on and you might get your fill that way.
Taking a ferry from Eminonu to Besiktas would give you fifteen minutes of time on the Bosphorus, and you'd disembark right beside Dolmabahce.
Risab's idea of Ortakoy is a good one also.

Yes, a Bosphorus cruise is an essential Istanbul experience. Also agree with Thin that the Harem at Topkopi is a must see. (There is a separate entrance fee.) Istanbul is a wonderful city. Have a great time!

I didn't think the Bosphorus cruise was that great, but it was relaxing. I did it once, but would not do it again and would not put it on a "must do" list.

I agree with Thin.....I LOVED Dolmabache Palace (the crystal staircase and chandeliers are spectacular!) and the harem in Topkapi Palace is great.

I've been to Istanbul 3 times....and each time I HAD to see the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar (okay....MANY times for the Bazaar!).

Tell me more about the Jewish tour. We had not planned on that because we are only there 2 1/2 days and did not want to start forwarding passport info on the internet to see a synagogue

You have a wonderful trip ahead and lots of great ideas about what to see. The Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia are within walking distance of one another, so I'm not sure why they are on different days. Also, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market can easily be combined. Do you have a walking map of Istanbul? You'll find a lot of the sights you want to visit are centrally located in the old city. Tokapi Palace is a must-see and you will get a different perspective on Istanbul from the Bosphorus Cruise, so it is also worthwhile.

Take sunscreen and good walking shoes for your Ephesus tour. Enjoy your trip!

i did the hagia sophia, blue mosque and grand bazaar all in one day! hagia sofia and blue mosque are right across from each other, so you shouldn't have to split the visits up into 2 days. the grand bazaar is also right there. if ur traveling with someone, stay with them the whole time at the bazaar b/c if u separate it will be so hard to find each other again b/c every aisle of shops looks exactly the same! i lost my hudband there when i went ot the bathroom and cried for 20 minutes before i could retrace my steps back to him!
have fun! turkey is beautiful =) the people are really friendly.

I just returned from Istanbul and am in the process of writing a trip report. I do have my photos on line, and some of the report (should be done this week). It's at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm

I think that itinerary looks kind of crammed but doable, especially if they are showing you around and you don't have to find places yourself. So many of the sites can be "seen" in a short time (e.g. Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque can both be "seen" in a half hour, however we spent over an hour in each. Same thing with the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar - you can just pop in and look around, or spend hours. The Rustempasa Mosque was really lovely, I highly recommend it (I have photos of it).

We loved the Bosphorus cruise (I have never done a gondola ride in three visits to Venice, so I know what you mean. This is different). And it was pretty cold the day we did the cruise, I would think it would be even better in June. Istanbul is very much a city on the water, taking the cruise helps define that. The Golden Horn is another waterway, that divides the old town (Sultanahmet) from the "newer" part of Istanbul. Then the Bosphorus divides these two areas (in Europe) from the Asian side. And the sea of mamara borders the whole south side of the city.

We didn't do the Dolmabahce palace, from what I read it similar to lots of European palaces. While in Istanbul I wanted to spend my time doing things unique to Istanbul - the Topkapi for example is very different from most European palaces so that was worth while. There are a few people who liked the Dolmabahce but the majority of reviews I read said to skip it.

thanks for the replies.
I'm about to book arrangements via isramworld.com, a company that I used for my Morocco trip, and I thought their services and arrangements were excellent. This time around, their group tours don't quite match with my time and priorities, so I will fly back and forth on my own, they will arrange some local and Ephesus group sightseeing as well as some Istanbul sightseeing with a private guide.
I'm still dithering about an Istanbul hotel, I've started another thread on that topic.

We loved very much Dolmabache and Beilerbey Palaces, as their location and view from their courtyards. It was very easy to reach them by tram / boat / taxi.

thanks

Gondola in Venice and Bosphorus cruise has two common things, water and vessel use Bosphorus cruise is not a tourist activity alone and being between two continents or crossing from one to opther watching things you can not see from the shore is priceless....I would recommend you to do this activity and to do this with public ferry is the best if you do not do it with a private boat.

Happy travelling,
Murat

thanks again for the replies