Topkapi Palace - Istanbul, Turkey

Topkapi Palace - Istanbul, Turkey

Constructed in the mid 15th century, Ottoman Sultans called this palace home for almost two thirds of their empire's reign. The palace was converted to a museum in 1924.

The grounds occupy between 6.3 and 7.5 million square feet of land situated between the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn, and the Bosphorus.

The palace was constructed to be a city within a city, boasting a mint, a hospital, mosques, and bakeries.

The Sultan's Treasure is impressive and represents one example of how this museum pays tribute to the rich history of the Ottoman Empire. 

While the good news is that these artifacts have been preserved and are on display for visitors to see, photographs are strictly prohibited.

The grounds are impeccably maintained. We felt as though we stepped into a fairytale when we passed through the main gate. 

One of the most unusual attributes was the stray cat population.  We had numerous sitings of cats and kittens lounging throughout the palace grounds.

I highly recommend dining at Konyali, the restaurant on the palace grounds.  The food was delicious. The service was wonderful.

While the views are not stunning there is absolutely a cool factor to dining on the grounds of this palace.

The museum is open most days, closing in observance of most holy days.  I strongly suggest checking their website for these dates.

I had no expectations when I added Turkey into my travel itinerary and found it to be an amazing country. Istanbul turned out to be a high point of this trip.