Istanbul Old City Food Tour: Egyptian Spice Market & Fatih

A fourth-generation confectioner still makes Turkish delight by hand in Kantarcılar.

This 5.5-hour food tour of Istanbul's Old City starts with breakfast in a traditional teahouse and moves through the Egyptian Spice Market into the untouristed streets of Fatih, where you meet wholesalers, cheesemongers and artisans. You'll visit a family confectioner, stop for tea in an old caravanserai, see an Ottoman-era bozacı, and finish with pit-roasted lamb lunch at a restaurant beside the Byzantine aqueduct. A live English-speaking guide leads the route. Breakfast, snacks, coffee, tea and lunch are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Old City food and markets

• Breakfast in traditional teahouse
• Walk through Egyptian Spice Market streets
• Explore untouristed Fatih neighborhood
• Meet wholesalers, cheesemongers, artisans
• Visit fourth-generation Turkish delight maker
• Stop for tea in old caravanserai
• Discover hidden historic Ottoman sites
• Lunch with pit-roasted lamb by aqueduct

The experience

Breakfast happens alongside local shopkeepers in a traditional teahouse: the kind of place tourists don't find on their own. From there the guide takes you into the lesser-known streets around the Egyptian Spice Market, where the wholesale trade still moves the way it has for centuries. You're not watching from the outside. You're walking where the city actually feeds itself, past the stalls and the people who run them.

Deeper into Fatih, you meet the people who keep the neighborhood moving: wholesalers, cheesemongers, artisans. In Kantarcılar, you stop at a confectioner who has been making Turkish delight the same way for four generations. Tea comes next in an old caravanserai, and somewhere along the way you'll stand in front of an Ottoman-era bozacı. A place that has been selling its one thing since the empire. These aren't museum pieces. They're working spaces, and the guide explains what you're standing in.

Lunch is pit-roasted lamb at a family-run restaurant beside the Byzantine aqueduct, with other tastes along the way. The walk covers ground, so the operator notes you'll need at least a moderate level of physical fitness. Public transportation options are nearby if you need them, and the tour runs 5.5 hours total.

What’s included

• Breakfast in a traditional teahouse.
• snacks and tastes throughout the walk.
• coffee and tea.
• a full lunch of pit-roasted lamb at a family-run restaurant.
• bottled water.
• a live English-speaking guide for the entire 5.5 hours.

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to SaturdayDeparts at 09:30

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (13 and older) · Child (6 to 12 years) · Infant (under 6)

GroupUp to 7

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Moderate physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Culinary Backstreets Walks

Is this one for you?You're walking and stopping often over 5.5 hours, so pick this tour if you move comfortably on your feet and want to eat where locals do rather than at a tourist table. The guide handles the route and the introductions, so you're free to ask questions and watch the work happen instead of navigating on your own.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (6 to 12 years); Infant (under 6).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What's the Egyptian Spice Market like on this tour?

The Egyptian Spice Market is approached through its lesser-known wholesale streets rather than the tourist-facing stalls. You walk where the city's restaurants and shops source their goods, meeting the traders and wholesalers who move the volume.

Do I get to eat at actual restaurants, or are these just tastings?

You start with breakfast in a traditional teahouse with the local shopkeepers, stop for tea in an old caravanserai, and finish with a full lunch of pit-roasted lamb at a family-run restaurant beside the Byzantine aqueduct, plus snacks and tastes along the way.

What is a bozacı, and why does it matter?

A bozacı is a traditional shop selling boza, a fermented grain drink that has been part of Istanbul life for centuries. The one on this tour dates to the Ottoman era and still operates the same way. It's a working piece of the city's food history.

How much walking is involved?

The tour covers the streets of the Old City over 5.5 hours, so the operator recommends at least a moderate level of physical fitness. The route moves through Fatih and around the Egyptian Spice Market, so there's no single long stretch, but the day is built on walking.

Is the guide English-speaking, and what does the tour cost?

The guide leads in English and is with you for the full tour. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffee and tea are all included in the price.