Topkapi Palace
Topkapa Palace is located in the middle of the historical part of Istanbul in Turkey. For more than a century in a row, he played the role of the main residence of the Ottoman sultans. Often, here, the country's most basic events took place, as well as various royal ceremonies. Nowadays, the famous World Museum is located in Topkapi, where the most important shrines of Muslims are preserved.
This palace is listed on UNESCO for its delightful appearance that belongs to the period of the Ottoman Empire.
If we translate Topkapi into Russian, we get « cannon gates », that is how it was named because of the huge gate, which, unfortunately, did not reach our time.
Topkapi Palace has been known since 1459, when it was founded by Sultan Muhmed. Conqueror. Then the whole complex was located on the territory of 173 hectares, which stretched along the coast. At the time of its dawn, there were more than 4 thousand people in the palace walls. Then there were several mosques, a mint, as well as a hospital and a bakery. A distinctive feature of Topkapa from the rest of the royal palaces is the fact that he constantly settled down, expanded and changed his appearance.
Somewhere in the XVIII century, Topkapi begins to lose its direct mission, as new palaces appeared in which the government spent more time. Over time, the residence itself was moved to Dolmabahce, which was the first palace of Istanbul, which was built in the European style. At the same time, the treasury and the state library were still in Topkapi.
In 1921, a magnificent museum was organized on the basis of the Topkapi Palace, which presented the reign of the emperor. This facility has become the most visited place among all the attractions of Turkey.
The Topkapa complex includes four yards, which are separated by walls. It accommodates a large number of different halls and rooms, where samples of Ottoman architecture are presented for display. Here you can see a considerable collection of weapons, various manuscripts and even medieval jewelry. A charming view is the collection of porcelain Turkish, European, Japanese samples. One cannot fail to notice the whole collection of caftans that belonged to the ruling emperors of the Ottoman Empire.
Jewelry that is located in the local halls attracts considerable attention. Among them are products with expensive metals and stones. Of particular interest to tourists are candlesticks, which are made with silver and generously decorated with diamonds, which are presented as pilgrims.
In one of the halls of the palace are portraits of all Ottoman emperors. The entire collection of the Topkapi Museum is simply huge, but only a tenth of it is displayed to visitors.
