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We spent the next morning at the Topkapi
Palace, the center of the Ottoman empire from the 1400s through the
1800s. Our ticket shows the Gate of Salutations, the entrance to
the courtyard containing most of the government buildings. |
One of the most interesting areas of the
palace is the Harem. The Harem, consisting of over four hundred rooms,
is where the wives, female slaves, and children of the sultan lived.
Many of the rooms were beautifully decorated with elaborate
tiles.
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These pavilions were decorated with hundreds
of amazing tiles. Here's Kimberly standing in front of one of the
pavlions. A closeup of the one section of the wall is to the
right.
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Inside, the pavilions were decorated with
inlaid mother of pearl as well as tiles. Here we are in front of
an inlaid set of doors. |
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| There were great views of the Golden Horn,
the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporous from Topkapi Palace, but
we wanted to spend some more time on the water. After lunch, we
went to the ferry docks and bargained with a guy for an afternoon
cruise on the Bosporous. We got on the somewhat rickety boat, and
cruised past palaces and small villages. To the right is a mosque
in front of one of the suspension bridges connecting the European
and Asian coasts. |
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Our last morning in Istanbul, we took the
elevator to the top of the Galata Tower for a
great view of the city. |
