Istanbul Tour 1 - Topkapi Palace

This morning we began a two-day guided tour of Istanbul with Hanifi, our guide, and two couples from the cruise we met on the internet.

Topkapi Palace was center of power for the Ottoman sultans for 400 years, after Sultan Mehmet II took Constantinople in 1453. It was built in only 18 years, 1460-1478. It was first a fortress as it sits overlooking the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus and the Golden Horn . It became also the center of administration, educations and arts for the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk turned it into a museum in 1924.Read more