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Day 39: Topkapi Palace occupies a prominent spot on the headland at Sultanahmet, with views over the beginning of the Bosphorus Strait. It is an enormous palace complex, with a series of gates that lead from one courtyard to the next, built by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 15th century.

Inside the Palace, the most impressive and best restored rooms are those within the harem complex. It was worth paying the additional entrance fee (10 lira) to walk through these beautifully tiled and decorated chambers which stand as prototypical of Ottoman sensibility.

Entry to the harem was through a cool courtyard (left) abutted by the rooms occupied by women of the harem. The reception room, tiled in elaborate designs of Ottoman blue and with its simple throne, was the centrepiece of the harem complex (main picture above).

Outside the harem, the Palace’s Treasury was full of beautiful Ottoman jewellery and priceless objects that came into possession of the Palace’s owners from around the world. Sadly I wasn’t permitted to take a photo, but we couldn’t quite believe our eyes when we came across the (claimed) skull and forearm of St John the Baptist. (I was unable to verify the authenticity of this relic, however it was impressive nevertheless.)

More pictures at flickr.