Karaköy Jewish District: A Walking Tour

Discover the Istanbul Jewish District on a captivating walking tour, immersing yourself in Turkish history and culture. Explore charming streets, marvel at architectural gems, and learn about Jewish Turkish culture and heritage.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Karakoy - Karaköy, Istanbul
  • The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews - Jewish Museum in Istanbul
  • Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul - Ashkenazi Synagogue
  • Beyoglu - Beyoğlu Istanbul
  • Kamondo Stairs - Camondo Stairs, Beyoglu
What's Included
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Hotel drop-off
  • Food and drinks
  • Private transportation
  • Entrance fees to Jewish museum (9 EUR)
Additional Information

Exploring a city by walking is an intimate way of getting to know it, and there is no better way to learn about the Karaköy Jewish District than to the walk around it. You will go on a group walking tour around modern day Galata and be charmed by its colorful streets, all while learning about daily life over there as you walk by the Jewish Apartments….

Location
Caribou Coffee
Rıhtım Caddesi
Caribou Coffee Karaköy
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(28 Ratings)
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Melody_r
Jul 22, 2025
Burak was great. He was... - Burak was great. He was extremely knowledgeable and shared so much about the deeply personal history of Jews in Türkiye. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Slandy620
Jul 12, 2025
Very interesting tour given by an excellent guide! - Very detailed history of the first Jews in Istanbul included in the tour. Visited many historical sites.
Review provided by Viator
P2670iorachels
Jun 10, 2025
Recommended! - Excellent! The guide knew so much information and we noticed things we otherwise would have missed in the neighborhood!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pfrenerk
Jun 1, 2025
Great experience - Guide went above and beyond. Everything was well coordinated with excellent communication. Very good and interesting.
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839lisaf
May 12, 2025
There is more Jewish history in Istanbul than you think! - The tour was excellent. Our guide Barack was extremely knowledgeable. He informed us above Jewish history in Turkey from 70AD until today. He also gave us general history of Turkey from the 1200’s through the time of Christopher Columbus, thru both world wars and today’s politics. The Jewish Museum and Nuve Shalom Synagogue were both beautiful and interesting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peter
Apr 20, 2025
An Enjoyable and Informative Experience - An excellent experience. We really enjoyed the tour even though some of the planned sites were closed as it was the last day of Passover. Our tour guide, Fatih, was a wonderful and very knowledgeable and informative guide. He was able to add additional highlights in place of the ones we missed and catered to our preferences. He was somewhat formal initially, but after we got to know each other better during the course of the tour, he was very friendly, warm and open, as well as adding candid comments and humour based on his understanding of us (both my wife and I and our friends who were also on the tour). Overall, I would highly recommend Fatih as a tour guide. Peter
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Mindy_m
Mar 9, 2025
Jewish Istanbul - An interesting morning learning about the Jewish presence in Turkey. Although the Ashkenazi Synagogue was closed, the Quintessential Foundation Museum and Neve Shalom Synagogue were open. The Comando steps were beautiful to see. My guide was well informed and good company!
Review provided by Viator
165evelynw
Aug 26, 2024
Excellent - Burak is very knowledgeable, which makes for a great experience. I would definitely recommend this tour to other travellers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeremy115
Jul 6, 2025
Mixed experience - On the good side, we overall enjoyed the tour. We had plenty of time with the guide, he was very open with sharing information, and he took us lots of places we would not have easily found on our own -- such as specific hotels with photos of Jewish families (see attached). At the end, he took us to a few additional points of interest. We learned many things during the tour. On the not-so-good side, most of the information is in the museum, which you could easily see on your own -- and you can buy many simple books in the museum which give you the relevant history. The guide scheduled the tour for 9 am but nothing is open until 10 am, so we sat around a coffee shop for an hour. His narrative was disjointed and, at times, hard to follow. There was a potential protest the day of our tour, and while it was entirely appropriate to alert us to this potential risk, it seemed the guide himself was very anxious and this made us anxious--yet we never experienced the protest or any special police presence. Compounding the issue, our group had some cruise ship passengers who themselves were anxious and in a rush. Overall, I'd recommend seeing the museum on your own; it's very near to Galata Tower and worth seeing. Bring your passport.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Melissaj
Jul 2, 2025
Jewish Tour in Istanbul - The venues open at 10.00am so the tour operator kept us sitting in a smokey coffee shop for an hour. There was misinformation given to us and we felt the overall experience did not give us the sense of the Turkey Jewish people. It was one of the worst experiences we ever had with a local tour company
Review provided by Viator