Istanbul holidays

Istanbul is a great city with ancient and rich history and is the capital of Turkey. There are many beautiful places to visit in Istanbul Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Grand Bazar. Topkapi Palace is one of the best place to visit in Turkey while Spending Istanbul Holidays

The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

This large wide palace derived its recent name in the 19th century in reference to one of its great gates. The building work of the Topkapi Palace has started twenty years after the Ottomans have conquered Constantinople in 1453. The first phase of the construction work was completed in 1479 but the building has remained for many years afterwards adding many more sections.

Topkapi Palace is also enjoying while traveling to Istanbul holidays by train. Sceneries looks beautiful all the way. One can enjoy Istanbul holidays with their friends and family.

The wide surface area of the palace estimated to be around 700 thousand square meters stretches from Hagia Sophia till the "Kolkhana" neighborhood in Istanbul.

Topkapi is located in the heart of old Istanbul situated in a classical atmosphere with large trees and different types of plants surrounding it. The Topkapi Palace contains a unique collection of antiquities that were gathered from different regions of the Ottoman Empire in various eras of time.

This palace was used as the center and the residence of the Ottoman Sultans for more than 380 years. The Topkapi Palace is one of the most important Ottoman royal residences in Istanbul and in the reign of Abdel Hamid I (1823 - 1861) and Sultan Abdel Aziz (1830 – 1876) have opened parts of this amazing palace for visitors to view. Topkapi Palace, one of the most wonderful and most ancient royal palaces in the world, was officially opened for public as a museum starting the year 1924.

Besides being royal residence, the cabinet of the state, the treasury, the national archive of the state, it was the center of the Ottoman Empire which ruled over various regions of the world for more than 620 years. The lands where the Ottoman Empire used to control extended from the Mediterranean Sea till the Black Sea in the North, large parts of Asia and Europe, and a considerable section of Africa. 36 Sultans came in power during the Ottoman Empire which lasted for more than 1600 years being the longest reigning dynasty in history.

The high walls surrounding the palace are called "The Sultan walls" and they contain 28 control towers. The Turkish government has destroyed some of these walls in 1888 to enable a railway line to pass through.

The Topkapi Palace used to have thirteen gates but only a few of them remained until today. The most important gate that is still present until today is the "Humayum Gate" or the imperial gate that is situated near the Sultan Ahmed Sabil near Hagia Sophia facing the sea. This is the major gate of the palace and it was constructed in the reign of the Mohamed the conqueror and it was restored and renovated many times afterwards in different regions of time.

This famous gate which has witnessed many historical events used to be opened at the Morning Prayer and closed at the Evening prayer.