This was the view from our balcony - as you can see we had views of the Bosphorus
We invested in a 3-day Museum Pass which gave us access to a dozen or so museums in Istanbul. The major benefit of buying the Pass was that we were able to by-pass the queues of those buying tickets for the specific venue - and for the more popular museums this was definitely a bonus.
This is the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. It is a group of three archaeological museums in the Eminönü district near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. The museum was founded as the Imperial Museum in 1891. The first curator and founder of the museum was Osman Hamdi Bey.
It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history
These items were from the Troy area. We thought that the artefacts, statues etc in the Museum in Antalya - which we visited in February - were far better than those in this museum. But this one was certainly worth visiting.
This is the Hagia Sophia - from the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral.
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II, who ordered this main church of the Orthodox Christianity converted into a mosque
The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935
As you can see there were lots of visitors - and this was on a normal working day during the week; the queues at weekends are enormous - especially in the main tourist season
The history of this building - how it had been a church and then a mosque is fascinating and some of the artwork is fabulous
This is Topkapi Palace. It was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for approximately 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign
As well as a royal residence, the palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments. It is now a museum and contains important holy relics of the Muslim world. The Topkapı Palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At its peak, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people. The Palace complex included mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint
This is in the Harem in the Palace.
Following the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Topkapı Palace was transformed into a museum of the imperial era. The Topkapı Palace has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public today. The palace includes many fine examples of Ottoman architecture. It contains large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armour, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasures and jewellery
We took time out to watch this sparrow having a bath in the fountain
We also visited Yildiz Palace - a smaller Palace in the Beşiktaş area. This is a view of the Bosphorus from the Summer House in the Palace Gardens. Yıldız Palace, meaning "Star Palace", was built in 1880 and was used by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II.
For loads more photos of our visits to these Museums click here Istanbul Museums
