Istanbul vacation

[John McLaughlin]

Claire and I spent the last week in Istanbul with our Turkish friends. We had a chance to see blue mosque the underground cisterns the castle or the Sultan a nd his harem quarters and the Hagle Sophia which use to be a church however now is mosque

 

[Thermobrett]

Claire and I spent the last week in Istanbul with our Turkish friends. We had a chance to see blue mosque the underground cisterns the castle or the Sultan a nd his harem quarters and the Hagle Sophia which use to be a church however now is mosque View attachment 211700View attachment 211672View attachment 211672View attachment 211673View attachment 211674View attachment 211675View attachment 211676View attachment 211677View attachment 211678View attachment 211679View attachment 211680View attachment 211681View attachment 211682View attachment 211683View attachment 211684View attachment 211685View attachment 211686View attachment 211687View attachment 211688View attachment 211689View attachment 211690View attachment 211691View attachment 211692View attachment 211693View attachment 211694View attachment 211695View attachment 211696View attachment 211697View attachment 211698View attachment 211699View attachment 211700View attachment 211672View attachment 211674

Looks like you are having a great time. Nice to see other parts of the world good, bad or indifferent.

 

[Scottintexas]

I was able to go to istanbul a couple times back in the early 90's,

it was a great trip, the history there is amazing, we also drove over to galipoli and then to troy,

it really makes me wish I would have gone to Greece and Rome, to see what man has made and see if fall to disrepair/nothing is humbling,

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Very cool John!

 

[John McLaughlin]

When we got back both Claire and I got sick we have finally recovered so now I will pst some more photos. I hope you all enjoy them as much as we enjoyed our time in Turkey.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Sorry you two got sick… looking forward to the pictures!

 

[John McLaughlin]

I know I already posted some photos on the Harem of Topkapi Palace however I thought I would add a little of the history to it. The Harem was actually where the sultans would spend their time apart from their official duties with their family, the queen mother crown princes and concubines.

The main entrance to the Harem. Note the beautiful mosaics wall and pebble walkways through out the harem. The next few photos are of the Queens Mother’s chamber. The next few few photos are of the Imperial Hall.

 

[John McLaughlin]

What would a harem be if I did not show where the concubines lived and who protected them. Clearly there was a hierarchy within the Harem within the Harem. The sultan at the top, follow by the queen mother, then the sultan’s wives and then the concubines. Unfortunately there were none in residency when we were there (so disappointing). The concubines were guarded by the eunuchs and the Head Eunuch was extremely powerful. He followed the grand vizier and the chief religious official in order of importance. Eunuchs were recruited at a young age and also castrated when recruited. They were also know as the Black Eunuchs. Here are a few photos.

 

[John McLaughlin]

This will be the last of the photos from the Topkapi Palace. They are from the Treasury section, where there is priceless heirloom to include the Spoon-maker Diamond which is 86 carats and is almost twice the size of the Hope diamond, which is 45 carats. There is also a crib made of gold. Plus a plethora of beautiful items ranging from necklaces to daggers to goblets. The other items are from the Privy Chambers, which were the private chambers of the sultans. Today they hold the religious relics of both the Moslem and Catholic faiths. One is the staff of Moses, the other is a relic of St. John the Baptist hand and the foot print of Mohamed