Here is our excellent guide Ural leading us into the Gate of Salutation entrance to the Second courtyard of the Topkapi Palace. 

The inscriptions on each side of the gate say “God is Great” Mohammed is messenger. There is not God except Allah” 

There are four courtyards in Topkapi. The largest is this Second Courtyard with these grand Sycamore trees

This is Council Square / Justice Square

This courtyard was the center of administration and the ceremonial area for the Ottoman Empire.

On the left side is stables, dormitory for maintenance staff (the “Halberdiers” who carried wood and serviced the palace) a mosque, harem entrance (Carriage Gate of Harem).

On the right side is the Palace Kitchens. The portico would be lined with food to show everyone the wealth and power of the the Ottoman State.

Officials meet 4 times per week to discuss state matters at the Imperial Council and Tower of Justice.

Ceremonies held for

A new sultan’s accession to the throne

Ramadan festivals

Paying the janissaries (elite deadly army troops and the 1st in the world equipped with firearms)

Receive foreign ambassadors

The Harem

In Arabic. the word "harem" means "a holy place where not everyone is allowed to enter." It refers to private family life in Islamic countries.

In Ottoman palaces, Harem was the private residence of the dynasty. It was forbidden to the public.

The Harem in Topkapl Palace was the living quarters of Sultan, Sultan's mother; wives/ children and siblings of Sultan.

The purpose of the Harem was to ensure the continuity of the Ottoman dynasty.

Harem ladies were only for the sultan. 1000 ladies lived here.

Entrance to the Harem

Harem ladies were only for the sultan.

1000 ladies lived here. The Harem has 400 rooms.

Ladies were paid well as servants, concubines, and wifes and they were educated.

Favorite

 A women who has some type of relationship with the sultan.

Consort

 A higher-ranking woman. An official partner.

Concubine

 A woman who has a domestic relationship, but is not his official wife. In ancient China, emperors could have multiple concubines, but only one official consort at a time.

Wife

 The goal of a woman is to get pregnant by the sultan. If a woman gave birth to the sultan's child, she was granted the title of wife and a private room. A wife was paid well. After 10 years they are retired and treated well.

Queen Mother

The mother of the sultan has the highest position with authority and a very comfortable apartment.

The harem includes apartments, turkish bath, a laundry room, a pantry, and a dormitory. Hospital.

This is the Courtyard of the Eunichs

The sign said “This dormitory housed the black eunuchs.” It has 3 stories of rooms on each side of the courtyard. Built in the 10th century, burned in 1665, then renewed.

Security was provided by eunichs (and maids were also harem guards).

Our tour guide said “They were not made eunichs here. White and black were purchased.”

 My picture of the entrance to the Imperial Council 

The Imperial Hall with Imperial Sofa or Sultans Throne Room

The Imperial Hall with Imperial Sofa or Sultans Throne Room

Official reception hall of the sultan for the entertainment of the Harem

The sultan received his confidants, guests, his mother, his first wife, consorts, and his children

Held religious festivals, and wedding ceremonies

After the Great Harem Fire of 1666, the hall was renovated. The tile belt surrounding the walls bearing calligraphic inscriptions on 18th-century blue-and-white Delftware and Venetian glass mirror.

Gifts: The gilded chairs from Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, and clocks from Queen Victoria.

Sultan has a secret door behind a mirror for safe passage to Queen Mother's apartments and to the sultan's hammam (privy, bathing area).

There are doors to dining chamber, and the great bedchamber, and his private apartment.

Dome ceiling is the largest dome in the palace

 PRIVY CHAMBERS or Hammam (bath house)

The Sign says:  PRIVY CHAMBER OF SULTAN MURAD III

Sultan Murad Ill commissioned Mimar (Architect) Sinan to build this privy chamber in 1579 in place of Süleyman the Magnificent's privy room.

The building had been used as both the sultan's private apartment and his reception hall for centuries.

It's one of the most magnificent structures of classical Ottoman architecture. Its interior was laid with the 16th century iznik tiles, manufactured in the period in which the art of Ottoman tile making had been at its peak.

The Verse of the Throne from the Holy Qur'an's Surah at-Baqarah is inscribed on the belt of tiles running around the walls in white calligraphy letters on blue background.

The dome's interior and the pendentives are decorated with rumi and palmette motifs that were made using the malakåri technique (decoration made by using paint on plaster reliefs). The same patterns are also repeated along the dome's guardrail in the form of marble reliefs.

The monumental tombac stove, the fountain built into the wall (selsebil), and cabinet doors which were interlaced with geometric patterns, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell and attributed to Sedefkår Mehmed Agha, reflect the style of the classical period. The two wooden and gilded baldachin thrones in the Ottoman Baroque style date back to the 18th century. Below is a large indoor pool.

Throne Verse is inscribed on the belt of tiles running around the walls.  White calligraphy letters on blue background.

The 255th verse of the second chapter of the Quran 2:255.

In this verse, God introduces Himself to mankind and says nothing and nobody is comparable to God. Considered the greatest and one of the most well-known verses of the Quran, it is widely memorised and displayed in the Islamic faith. It is said that reciting this verse wards off devils (šayāṭīn) and fiends. Due to the association with protection, it is believed to shield against the evil eye.

Text and translations

Arabic

 ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ'ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰت وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ۝٢٥٥‎ ‎

English

255 God: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Self Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both. He is the Most High, the Tremendous.

The white calligraphy letters on blue background tiles around the wall is the 

Throne Verse from the Koran.

 Water taps.   Our guide said that the water was not for drinking but to make white noise to cover other noise in the palace.

And so other people could not listen. There are many water taps around the palace.

Topkapi Privys.  Sultan's is behind a gilded grill

Comparable from the 1500's - another type of privy

 American outhouses

Privies on the move:

11:05 now and we have free time on our own to see the Treasury, kitchens and collections until we meet again at 12:10.

I made a bee line to the toilet so Gary and I separated. Incredible that there was no line for the ladies toilet !

I do not think that my Grandfater it to Istanbul. What a magical place this palace is. I can’t imagine thousands of people living here back in the day.

11:10 and I’m going into the Imperial Treasury exhibit.

There is NO LINE to enter!

The Sign in front of the entrance says (I reformatted the paragraph into a list.)

Imperial Treasury

On display in the Fatih (sic) Pavillion are Items from the Treasury Collection. One will find

precious royal heirlooms,

objects from state ceremonies (incl.sultanic symbols),

consular gifts exemplifying the Ottoman Empire's international diplomatic ties,

war booty, and

religious collateral reflecting the sultan's stature as a caliph.

Of particular significance:

the Spoonmarker's Diamond,

the Topkapj Dagger (a symbol of Topkapi Palace),

the Golden Throne (used for certain royal ceremonies) and

jewel-encrusted artifacts sent to Medina for the Prophet Muhammad's tomb.

You walk by the swords, the jewels, and then the diamond.

Topkapj Dagger is a symbol of Topkapl Palace

Gold and jewels: Emeralds, Garnets, Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire, Diamond Jewel encrusted box

 You walk by the swords, the jewels, and then the diamond.

Topkapj Dagger is a symbol of Topkapl Palace

Gold and jewels: Emeralds, Garnets, Ruby, Topaz, Sapphire, Diamond Jewel encrusted box

 Spoonmaker’s Diamond

Most likely acquired by the Ottoman Palace Treasury during the era of Sultan Mehmed JV  1648-1687(second half of the 17 th Century).

86 carats (17.2g) pear-shaped brilliant cut diamond

The most valuable single exhibit in the museum

The fourth largest diamond of its kind in the world.

Surrounded by a double row of 49 old-mine cut diamonds (brilliants)

Our guide called it the “super market diamond found in the trash. It was exchanged at the bazaar. 6 th largest diamond in the world. It is two times bigger than the Hope diamond (45 carats). /p>

The tale of the naive fisherman

A poor fisherman found it in a pile of litter. He did not know what it was, and carried it for a few days. He showed it to a jeweler who appeared uninterested, and told him "It is a piece of glass, take it away if you like, or if you like I'll give you three spoons." He traded it for the spoons.

The "Topkapi" movie made this place famous in 1965.  Wiki said The Spoonmaker's Diamond is the big diamond that is referenced in the film, shot in Istanbul.  Stars Melina Mercouri and Peter Ustinov. However, the robbers depicted in the film are mainly oriented at stealing another Topkapi treasure, the emerald-encrusted dagger of the earlier Sultan Mahmud I.

Our guide also mentioned the movie Midnight Express. About trying to excape from a Turkish prison

Jewel encrusted Korans

 The Quran (Koran) The central religious text of Islam:  114 chapters (surah) with individual verses.

Muslims believe (I got this information from Wiki)

It is a revelation directly from God (Allāh).

Orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of some 23 years, beginning when Muhammad was 40 to 63 when he died in the year 632.

It is Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the holy books of the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel in Islam.

It is God's own divine speech providing a complete code of conduct across all facets of life.

Prayer beads and more jewels

Armor and clothing

Day 13 - Istanbul, Turkey - Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar

.

Another excellent breakfast at the Hotel Conrad this morning.

9:00 am Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Hippodrome Guided Tour

Viking description of the tour

Istanbul Old City Tour with the Hippodrome of Constantinople, “Blue Mosque” & Hagia Sofia

9:00 AM 4 Hours  Iconic Landmarks of Byzantine and Ottoman Empires

Discover three of Istanbul’s most impressive and legendary landmarks during a walk through the historic Old City.

Visit the former site of the legendary Hippodrome, once the largest chariot racetrack in the Byzantine Empire. See the Egyptian obelisk imported by Emperor Theodosius, the Serpentine Column from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and more.

Head to the iconic “Blue Mosque,” or Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Marvel at its slender minarets and cascade of domes, one of Istanbul’s most recognizable sights. Take a guided tour of its lavish interior, decorated with blue İznik tiles that give the building its nickname.

Explore the famous 6th-century Hagia Sophia, a former cathedral and mosque renowned as the embodiment of Byzantine architecture with its central dome; at the time of its construction, it was the world’s largest building. Admire the golden tiles and masterful frescoes within, as well as the dome which seems to hover weightlessly overhead.

My Notes

It is 9:10 am and we are on the bus.  Our guide is Unal.

“Gunidin” is Good Morning

Today we see the iconic landmarks of Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

There are no cruise ships here today so very few tourists.  We are very lucky.

Our original Viking itinerary said we were going to Blue Mosque then Hagia Sofia, but our excellent guide knew better and we went to Hagia Sofia first. Our schedule:

1.  First visit Hagia Sofia.  Half museum in the upper gallery, and half mosque on the lower level.  July 2020 is was converted to a mosque.   2023 half mosque, half museum.

2.  Walk 5 minutes and we arrive at the Blue Mosque.  Renovated for 3 years and finally reopen to the public last year in 2023.

3.  Walk 1 minute to the Hippodrome.

4. Grand Bazaar

5.  3:30 back to the hotel

99% of the population in Turkey is Muslim. In Istanbul, there are 3000 mosques!

There is a 5-minute Arabic call to prayer 5 times a day:

4:30 am first prayer in the summer, 7 am first prayer in the winter.
1:15 second
5:15 third
8:30 fourth
10:30 last

On Friday there is an additional 12 noon call to prayer to come to mosque with Imam.

Pray by kneeling and facing Mecca.

The length of your prayer depends on you. 5 minutes or an hour, your choice.

At the mosque they pray for about 30 minutes to one hour. Our guide said “A Jet Imam” has 5 minute prayers.”

They pray in Arabic (not Turkish). Most Turkish people do not know Arabic language. Our guide said “Imagine praying and you don’t know what you are saying.”

There are no memberships for a mosque. You can go to any mosque.

On our walk to the Hagia Sophia entrance

We pass a Hamman (a Turkish bath).  90 Euro to 180 Euro depending on the package. Our guide said it took him 3 days to recover from deep tissue massage.

There was a dress up shop. For 5 euro you can become a sultan!

Ablutions before going into the mosque

Ablution is washing of part or all of the body. Muslims believe that showing respect for the Almighty includes ritual purity through washing. During ablution, a Muslim washes the parts of the body that are generally exposed to dirt and grime.