Day 2 Ottoman Relics

Day 2 - Another interesting day in Instanbul. Today I was up early and wanted to write my story first thing in the am. However, I discovered the internet was down. Poor fella looking after the front desk. I caught him napping and scared the living crapola out of him. I was wondering what he sould have done if if I hadcome down in the middle of the night. Anyway, I went on a toru today in the afternoon. And, I checked out theTop
The Topkapı Palace was the official and primary Istanbul residence of the Ottomans Sultanan from 1465 to 1853. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today. The name directly translates as "Cannongate Palace," the palace being named after a nearby gate. Initial construction started in 1459, ordered by Sultan MehmedII, the conqueror of ByzantineConstantinople. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At the height of its existence as a royal residence the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Topkapı Palace was transformed by government decree on April 3, 1924 into a musem of the imperial era. The Topkapı Palace Museum is under the administration of the tourism of Turkey. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public today. The complex is guarded by officials of the ministry as well as armed soldiers of theTurkish military. The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture and also contains large collections of porcelin, robes,weapons, shields, armor,Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry.

Then we went to the Suleymaniye Mosque. The Süleymaniye Mosque is a grand mosque inIstanbul,Turkey. It was built on the order of sultan Suliman I(Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinam. The construction work began in 1550 and the mosque was finished in 1557.

The most intertaining part was the musical buses prior to take off and the driving in Istanbul on the way there and back home. OMG and my sons think I am a maniac driver. OMG can't wait to get the pictures up...

Tomorrow I am taking a cruise along the bosphurus... will see more historical architecture... TTYAL

---

---