Topkapi Palace

Assalaamu Alaykum world.  On April 7, 2014 Cinn and I went to Topkapi Palace.  Ended up standing in a very long line to get tickets.   Did not see the kitchens and some parts of the exhibit were not open.  I got two books, a travel guide to Istanbul and a book on Constantinople from the gift shop.  Went to see pictures of the Sultans of Turkey but couldn't take pictures there or in the Islamic Museum on sight.  Had to walk up a steep cobblestone road which was very hard on my feet. A lot of cobblestone streets in Turkey in some areas.

The Archeology Museum was closed so had to take pictures of the stuff outside it.  It's a five minute walk from Erboy Hotel to Topkapi Palace.  I also have a lot of pictures of Arabic writing slabs that are written in Classical Arabic so I can't read it and neither could Cinn.  I love Islamic History and Turkey has a lot of Islamic History.  Cinn said that the Ottoman Turks took a lot of Islamic Artifacts with them to Turkey.  There are even walls still in place from the time Istanbul was Constantinople near the road.

There is an area of Topkapi Palace that houses clothing from Hazrat Hussein, Lady Fatimah (RA), and Prophet Muhammad (SAW).  There is also a place that houses weapons of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Prophet Dawud (AS), and the four righteous Caliphates (Abu Bakr, Uthman, Umar, and Ali). The Prophet's (SAW) beard hairs were also on display which I thought was sacrilegious and complained about to Cinn.  I never knew that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used a bow and arrows or that Prophet David (AS) used a sword.  One of the Caliphates used two swords.  Hussein was one of the grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the other grandson being Hasan.

The walk up from Erboy Hotel in Istanbul.

Yes those are coffins.  How cool is that?!

The sign says "Please do not touch the artifacts."

I think the next three pictures are part of the wall from when Istanbul was Constantinople.

The Imperial Gate

The next several pictures are of stone slabs with Classical Arabic written on them.  Arabic is written and read right to left.    Cinn did not know what the slabs said but they line the walkway in the above picture.

This is what the sign above says.  Sorry for the glare on the above two pictures.

Palace Kitchens

• Some of the kitchens were first built in the 15th century at the time when the palace was constructed.
• They were enlarged during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent but burned down in 1574.
• The kitchens were remodeled and brought up to day by Mimar (architect) Sinan.
• The kitchens are arranged on a street stretching between the Second Courtyard and the Sea of Marmara.
• The entrance to this section is through three doors in the portico of the second court.
• These are the imperial commissariat (lower kitchen) door, imperial kitchen door, and the confectionary kitchen door.
• The palace kitchens consists of ten domed buildings; Imperial Kitchen, Enderun (palace school), Harem (women's quarters), Birun (out of service section of the palace), kitchens, beverage kitchens, confectionary kitchen, creamery, storerooms, and rooms for the cooks.
• The meals for the Sultan, the residents of the Harem, Enderun, and Birun (the inner and outer services of the palace) were prepared here.

Ottoman Empire

Map Key

Gate of Felicity

The next few pictures are of the walls of Constantinople that surround Istanbul like a fortress and views of the Marmara Sea.  The Walls of Constantine span a decent length of a major street in Istanbul. There is also a restaurant there as well and one can see overgrown railroad tracks.

If you look to the right you can see railroad tracks.

An old pool.  Women had their own pool in the Harem.

Lion Statues.

The next two sets of pictures are of the room and ceiling of the Circumcision Room where all princes were circumcised.

I really liked Topkapi Palace except for the steep climb up to the Islamic Art Museum as it hurt my feet so I had to walk on the sidewalk.    All the streets in Turkey are steep which made me out of breath easily since I don't do any walking but I pushed on.   Everything is also made for tall people because it seems like everyone in Turkey is tall and by tall I mean taller than most Americans and Arabs.  I love Islamic History and want to learn everything about it but I seem to be the only Muslim that cares about Islamic History and what Muslims once did for the world unlike Muslims today.   I told Ali that the people who used to live in Topkapi Palace were lucky because they got to live in such a beautiful place.  Then I asked him why Turkey allows non-Muslims to enter Topkapi Palace when they won't appreciate Islamic History and he had no answer for me.

See that blue mosaic covering the wall to the right?  The door cut into there leads to the Circumcision Room.

I'm going to make sure my children know about the history of the Muslim empire which lasted for 700 years.   Read to them books about the Prophets (Alyahi Salaam) and the Prophet Muhammad's (Salla Allahu Alayhi wa Salaam) companions (Sahaba in Arabic). Read to them stories of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and about other important women figures in Islam so they grow up with an understanding of their Muslim heritage.  I am collecting books on different topics in Islam that interest me as well as Muslim children books.   It is important to me as a Muslim that my children grow up to be good Muslims and appreciate their Muslim heritage.  Now if only time travel were possible.  I would go back in time to when Muslims had control of Andalusia and walk the streets of Granada which I see as rightfully belonging to Muslims.

The pretty blue mosaic is part of the decoration near the circumcision room.

Fountain of the Privy Chamber of Murad III.

The next two pictures are of the women pool in the Harem.

Church of Hagia Eirene in the First Courtyard of Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey.

The last five remaining pictures are of the Royal Garden of Topkapi Palace.  Lots of pretty purple flowers, a couple fountains, bridges to get from one side to the other.  This garden is to the left of the cobblestone road going up from Erboy Hotel (to the left are the gardens after walking through the archway and then to your straight right is the Archaeology Museum, Topkapi Palace and the Harem). When we went to the Royal Garden, someone was selling burnt corn on the cob.  It is very pretty and a place you should check out in Istanbul.