Istanbul — Touring Topkapi; Emeralds and Gold

The Conqueror’s Pavillion inside Topkapi’s third courtyard houses treasures from the Imperial Treasury. Here you will find some magnificent examples of Ottoman Empire jewelry and outright opulence. Getting inside may take a wait, as the crowds are metered in and, once inside, you are ushered through the narrow spaces at the beginning of the exhibit. But if you’re into gold and precious stones, particularly emeralds, it’s definitely worth the short wait.

Even more commonplace items, such as a simple spyglass, are made decorated with gold:

And how about this gold-and-jewel encrusted assortment of knickknacks?

As Ursula and I wandered the rooms, I noticed that the Ottoman sultans appeared to have an affinity for emeralds because green is associated in Islam with the Prophet Muhammad, but rubies and diamonds were also in evidence:

Now for a slight detour. Bear with me for a moment. Did you ever wonder where Bruce Geller got the idea for the television series Mission: Impossible? Do you know what inspired that iconic scene in Tom Cruise’s first Mission: Impossible film (1996) in which he is suspended from an air duct to swipe valuable information from CIA HQ Langley? You can thank the 1964 comedy-heist film Topkapi. Only the object of desire in that film was not state secrets. It was a dagger. Just not this dagger, which looks as if it is worth fortune:

Rather, Melina Mercouri‘s target was the famous emerald encrusted Topkapi Dagger. Embedded in the pommel is a small timepiece, but that’s not show here:

I’ll finish up today with two final images taken in the treasury:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)