Dear Commons Community,
Yesterday the highlight of the day was a visit to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. This is the Turkish version of Versailles or St. Petersburg’s Peterhof. It was home to all the Ottoman sultans and built by Mehmed II after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Through the years the palace grew steadily to form a city-like complex of buildings, annexes, and courtyards including a shore palace known as the Topkapi, as it was situated near the cannon gate -Topkapi- of the ancient walls of Istanbul. When the shore palace burned down in 1863, it lent its name to the entire complex we now know as Topkapi Palace.
A visit through the many buildings (throne room, harem, treasury, kitchens, sofa room) easily gives one the feel of the opulence in which the sultans lived. Each of the rooms is covered with intricate and colorful mosaics. Some contain beautiful stained glass windows. The gardens are magnificent and filled with tulips and the views from of the Bosphorus panoramic and breathtaking.
All the pictures in this post were taken somewhere within the Topkapi complex.
Tony
A great romantic city, Istanbul will never stop amazing its tourists as there is lots to see and enjoy here. Getting to Istanbul is quite easy as there are flights that fly in and out of Istanbul carrying tourists. A very hospitable city the hotels in Istanbul offer a warm welcome to the guests coming in to stay here.