Tag Archives: Topkapi Palace

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!)

You would think that in all the times Ursula and I have visited Istanbul, we would’ve at least once before managed to hit the world-famous Topkapi Palace in the Fatih District. But, nope, never have… until our April visit this year. And since on prior visits we’d already seen the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cisterns, we ran out of excuses to miss this wonderful place. Locals will tell you that you only need couple hours to see it all. Baloney. We spent over five hours, and I’m sure we still missed some of it. Give yourself the day. You can always leave earlier and hit the nearby Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, but you do not want to run out of time should you start Topkapi later.

You’ll also want to arrive early because lines form. Long lines. Long, long lines.

Today we begin with a four-week look at this huge complex. Over those next several weeks I’ll show you the armory, jewels, harem, and lots of other stuff. But today I’m going to concentrate on the grounds and the first structure we entered, the kitchen. Let’s start with the image below, the original location of the Sancak-ı Şerif, the standard of the Prophet Muhammad.

The grounds here are very impressive, and there are plenty of trees available to frame your shots:

There are four main courtyards here at the Topkapi Palace, and in the third courtyard you’ll find the Chamber of Petitions (Arz Odası):

As for architectural details, you’ll be greeted by some interesting ones almost everywhere you turn. I wound up on this visit taking many shots such as this shot of the columns and arches adorning the portico of the Conqueror’s Pavllion (Fatih Köşkü):

In the second courtyard you’ll find access to the palace kitchens, which also house a collection of porcelains. Today’s last four photos show what you’ll find in the kitchen area:

On Wednesday I’ll show you emeralds and gold, including the famous Topkapi Dagger that was the object of desire in the 1964 comedy-heist film Topkapi.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)