Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia revolutionized architecture.

It established a unique Byzantine perspective, an exotic Middle Eastern style far different from that found elsewhere in the far-flung Roman Empire.

Many features of Hagia Sophia can be found in the Blue Mosque, including the massive dome.

Mary and Jesus flanked by Emperors Justinian and Constantine I

Hagia Sophia means "Holy Wisdom" in Greek, foreshadowing by a century when Greek would replace replace Latin as the official language of the Roman Empire.

By the time Byzantine Emperor Justinian commissioned construction of Hagia Sophia in 532 AD, Rome itself had been overthrown by Odoacer, the German Barbarian leader who became the first King of Italy

The pink area was what remained of the Roman Empire at the time of the "Fall."

Many consider the surrender of western Roman Emperor Romulus in 476 AD as the final straw in the Fall of the Roman Empire, but what is now referred to as the Byzantine Empire continued for almost a thousand years more, referring to themselves as Romans.

The remainder of the empire expanded and contracted dramatically over time, as this dynamic map I found in a Vox Media article about Roman maps demonstrates.

Designed by architects Isidore of Militus and Anthemius of Tralles, Hagia Sophia became the world's largest cathedral upon its completion in 537 AD.

It would have remained so until Spain's Seville Cathedral supplanted it in 1520, but in 1453, when Constantinople surrendered to the Ottoman Empire, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque.

Sultan Mehmed II's soldiers had begun to pillage the church, following the traditional thesis of war that "to the victors go the spoils."

Mehmed, however, stopped his troops from razing the beautiful structure.

Emperor John II Komnenos, Mary with Jesus, Empress Irene

After removing the bells, crosses, altars, relics and other religious artifacts, Mehmed nonetheless had religious mosaics featuring Jesus, Mary and everyone else plastered over.

That's because "Aniconism" forbids depiction of Mohammed and Islamic prophets in art, as you may remember from incidents with cartoons over recent years.

Anicosnism extends further to discourage depiction of any humans or animals in art.

Interior and exterior elements of mosques, including four minarets, were added, and Hagia Sophia served as the primary mosque of Constantinople until Sultan Ahmed's Blue Mosque was completed in 1616.



The former Greek Orthodox Church remained a mosque until 1931, when the Republic of Turkey converted it into a museum.

Since then, restorers have worked to refurbish this masterpiece, stripping away plaster to reveal beautiful mosaics which had been thought lost forever.

Large discs from the mosque era detract from the original interior design.

As the construction of the Blue Mosque to some extent marked the plateauing of the Ottoman Empire, the fall of Constantinople and conversion of the greatest church in Christendom to a mosque marked the true end of the Roman Empire.

Despite having lost Rome and being called "Byzantine" by historians beginning a century after the fall of Constantinople, make no mistake: this was the Roman Empire.

Due to having consistently more competent rulers than the Rome-based western European branch of the Roman Empire, the Constantinople-based Christian Roman Empire had survived considerably longer.

Just to connect the historical dots, on Christmas Day in the year 800, Pope Leo III crowned Frankish King Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, but he had no direct tie to the original Roman Empire.

These ancestors of the former "Barbarians at the Gate," of course, would eventually come to the aid of Christians being tormented in the Holy Lands.

Much of central Europe became confederated as the Holy Roman Empire, which would survive until 1806.

Transition to Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Ancient but Still Growing

Istanbul straddles the border between Europe and Asia.

No other city in the world does so, and that unique geographic position has made it a major hub for trade between those distinctly different continents.

So, it's only natural that our excursion kicked off with a bus ride across a bridge to the Asian side, accompanied by introductory narration by our knowledgeable guide, who fortunately was not trying to divide his attention by also driving our bus through the snarling bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Bosporus Strait Dividing Europe From Asia

Our bus driver did an excellent job throughout the day, always keeping his cool despite the fact that traffic stretched our 9 hour tour into 10 1/2 hours by the time we returned to Azamara Journey after dark.

It's nice to say we've been to the Asian side of Istanbul, but a round trip ferry ride across the Bosporus Strait with a short time to walk around would have been ideal.

Two Mosques Beyond the Grassy Park.

We had an overnight stay in Istanbul, so anyone with sufficient motivation could have
returned to Asia the next morning.

Colonists from Megara, Greece, arrived in 667 BC, founding their colony which became known as Byzantium in honor of their leader, King Byzas.

As you may surmise, that name is where German historian Hieronymus Wolf came up with the name Byzantine Empire, which is also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire.

Praying Area for Men Only in Blue Mosque

At the time history unfolded, however, the citizens throughout the sprawling empire considered themselves simply Romans, with Byzantium shorthand to refer to the eastern region, like calling the northeastern region of the U.S. by the shorthand New England.

During the first few centuries of Roman rule, the city of Byzantium kept its original name, but for a brief time in the third century it became Angusta Antonina, named after an otherwise historically insignificant Roman royal.

Madonna and Jesus flanked by Emperors Justinian I and
and Constantine I at Hagia Sofia

The far more significant Roman Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity legal and then the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, declared the city to be the eastern capital of the Roman Empire on May 11, 330.
People began calling it Alma Roma (Eastern Rome), or the more complex New, Second Rome. Eventually, it became known as Constantinople, in honor of the Emperor who rebuilt the key city on a monumental scale similar to Rome itself.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar

Beginning in the tenth century, Armenians and Muslims began to refer to Constantinople as Istanbul, which essentially means "in the city," much in the way Knickerbockers might refer to New York as "the City," but it didn't become Istanbul officially until the new Republic of Turkey made it so in 1928.

After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, they referred to it as Istanbul in some records but the official name was Kostantiniyye, the Arabic translation for "place of Constantine,"

The rise of the Ottoman Empire from inception in 1299 to their conquest of Constantinople coincided with the decline of the Byzantine Empire. The Christian Crusades had met with some degree of success in retrieving the Holy Lands in the 1100s and 1200s, but the Muslims struck back, capturing Jerusalem in 1287.

Wes Outside Topkapi Palace Entrance

In thinking about the Crusades, it may be easy to think the Holy Lands were the sole focus of a united Europe, but then as now, there were all kinds of side intrigues and all out wars dividing the interests of world leaders.

In addition to Crusading, English King Edward I became known as the Hammer of the Scots for his fierce control of Scotland, and he also battled France. Edward I was a staunch supporter of the Knights Templar, with whom he fought side by side in the Holy Lands.

Flowers and Artifact by Wall Outside Hagia Sofia

King Philip IV of France had to fund his war with England using loans.

Jewish bankers helped finance Philip the Fair (a rather ironic nickname in retrospect), not knowing he would rid himself of that debt by arresting all the Jews in 1306, confiscating all of their property, and expelling them from his country, unpaid. Of course, this type of treatment of Jews has been a recurring theme throughout history.

Philip had also borrowed heavily from the Knights Templar, who, rich from their Crusading activities, had re-settled as power brokers in Europe in the 13th Century.

Blue Mosque Ceiling Section

However, King Philip could not take action against the Knights Templar as long as their powerful royal friend King Edward I lived.

That didn't stop Philip from plotting a scheme with his Counselor William de Nogaret to replace the Pope with one more amenable to the will of Philip, planning to have that Pope find the Knights Templar guilty of trumped-up crimes against the Church, so that Philip could cancel his debts and seize their wealth.

To those ends, Philip and De Nogaret first tried to get Pope Boniface VIII removed from power, which resulted in threatened ex-communication. Changing plans, De Nogaret kidnapped the Pope and imprisoned him. Soon, Boniface died from the harsh treatment.

He was replaced by Benedict XI, who also apparently wouldn't play ball with Philip and was poisoned by De Nogaret. Pope Clement V proved to be a keeper.

The final piece of the puzzle for King Phillip IV was the death of King Edward I in 1307.

Meanwhile, in response to the Ottoman Empire amalgamating Muslim kingdoms under their rule, Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay planned a Return of the Jedi (great link here) scenario.

De Molay headed to see Pope Clement V to receive Church sanction for another Crusade, not realizing Clem was in the pocket of Philip the Fair. The Grand Master obviously lacked Yoda-like powers of perception, because en route he accepted a royal invitation to meet with King Philip in Paris, hoping to get the French monarch on board with his plan and make it a slam dunk for Papal approval.

On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip had the Knights Templar arrested and subsequently tortured into confessions. The demise of the Knights Templar made the Ottoman Empire's rise easier.

Once the Ottomans took control of Constantinople in 1453, they owned the most valuable trade routes between East and West, and their wealth and influence grew, making the Ottoman Empire into the most powerful nation in the world.

Julie at Topkapi Palace Entrance

We would see the incredible wealth of their royal treasury for ourselves at Topkapi Palace, which occupies an area about a third the size of the wealthy country of Monaco.

Had Philip the Fair not hatched his plan against the Knights Templar, and they had successfully united Europe for another Crusade to the Holy Lands, then perhaps the Roman Empire would not have lost Constantinople.

Then, that young Italian Christopher Columbus might not have shown up before Queen Isabella I of Spain, hat in hand, asking for funding to find an alternative trade route to Asia sailing west.

And the conquest of America might have been delayed a few centuries.

Were all of the Knights Templar killed by Philip the Fair?

Knights Templar Charge at the Battle of Bannockburn

No.  Many later recanted their confessions made under torture.  Other than in France and some Italian city-states, most European governments didn't accept the unjust rulings, and Knights Templar were gladly absorbed into their armies.

In Scotland, it is said that Knights Templar with white capes and red crosses emblazoned across their chests came to the aid of Robert the Bruce in 1314 just as defeat seemed imminent at the Battle of Bannockburn, charging over the hill to reverse the tide and win Scotland's independence.

Pinta, Santa Maria and Niña Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

In fact, if you went to school in the same era as I did when Columbus was still considered a great explorer and hero, you may remember paintings of the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria with red crosses on their sails.  Those Crusader crosses are not royal symbols of Spain.

In 1492, Queen Isabella and her hubby King Ferdinand not only launched exploratory ships to the west but also completed the Reconquista, reclaiming Spain from the Muslim Moors, who had invaded almost 800 years earlier and whose architectural influence is still seen in great Spanish cities and throughout the New World.

Arches at Topkapi Palace

Perhaps you've also noted a white cross on red background on Swiss Army Knives or the Swiss flag.  The Swiss Confederation was established August 1, 1291, or about the time Knights Templar returned to Europe.  Switzerland, of course, remains one of the great banking centers of the world.  Coincidence?

European powers changed focus for their adventurism from the birthplace of civilization to the New World and future glories.

They found great wealth there, sufficient to fund power which eventually reclaimed the Holy Lands from the Ottomans after the Muslims sided with Germany in World War I.  As I think about it, their former colonies, the United States of America, rode over the ridge just in time to turn the tide in favor of Great Britain's allies, like heroic knights.

From the ashes of the Ottoman Empire rose the Republic of Turkey, and Istanbul remains a vibrant hub where East meets West.

Maria Theresa and the Habsburgs, Pt. 6: Pressburg (Bratislava)

When the mob figuratively lost their collective heads during the French Revolution, many nobles literally lost their heads.

Marie Antoinette is the most famous victim remembered by "popular history," but an estimated 300,000 royalists (1 in 50 French residents) were arrested during the Reign of Terror and 40,000 died by force or disease, with over 16,500 sentenced to death by guillotine by Maximilien Robespierre and his blood-thirsty followers.

In the aftermath, a young officer named Napoleon Bonaparte rose to become Emperor of France.

City Gate in Bratislava

Napoleon championed a new meritocracy with systems of justice designed to make everyone equal under the law, so of course the royal families of Europe, including the Habsburgs, felt their feudal order was now being threatened in their own back yard as well as across the ocean in far-away America.

A series of coalitions formed to take down this upstart who had no legitimate claim to power by "royal blood."

Napoleon dealt with these threats, keeping territories captured during the successful defense of his realm through successive coalitions.

Unlike Hitler's detestable rule by fear, Napoleon and the common people in the territories he subsequently conquered saw him as a liberator.

Strolling through beautiful Bratislava

When the Third Coalition met with utter defeat at his hands, the Peace of Pressburg was declared on December 26, 1805, under a treaty between Napoleon and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a grandson of Maria Theresa.

So total had been the defeat that the Holy Roman Empire itself, the last official vestige of the amazing Roman Empire, collapsed entirely.

Emperor Napoleon's son by Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, was called "King of the Romans" from birth, inferring that the Roman Empire almost resurrected under a Habsburg descendant, as royal family lines have occasionally reclaimed thrones in the past.

That was not to be, as royal blood apparently demanded that royal kingdoms destroy Napoleon and all that he stood for to stem the tide toward a more egalitarian world, even if it might have eventually evolved full circle back to the Roman Empire.

The eastern branch of the Roman Empire based in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), which by historians came to be called the Byzantine Empire but considered themselves Romans, had ceased to exist with the Fall of Constantinople in 1456 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.

This was obviously a significant milestone for the Ottoman Empire, which had been rapidly expanding since the year 1300.

When Suleiman the Magnificent came to power as the 10th Ottoman Sultan, he set his sights on expanding deeper into Eastern Europe and beyond.

To those ends, Suleiman's army decimated the Royal Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohács in 1526.

In retreat, Louis II, the 20 year-old King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, fell backwards off his horse riding down a steep ravine.  He landed in a stream, and the heavy armor he wore for protection in battle proved to be so heavy that he couldn't stand up before he drowned.

This defeat brought central Hungary under Ottoman control.

Transylvania became a semi-independent vassal state of the Ottomans and eventually a "suzerainty" under the rule of both the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs.

The remaining Kingdom of Hungary was primarily modern day Slovakia, including Pressburg plus Transnubia, an area east of Vienna along the Danube encompassing modern day Budapest.

Separate Hungarian noble groups elected two Kings almost simultaneously for "Royal Hungary": Slavonian noble John Szapolyai, who would become known as Hungarian King John I, and Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria, who was brother-in-law of' the recently deceased Hungarian King Louis II who was married to Maria of Habsburg.

John and Ferdinand both claimed to be King of Hungary.

Suleiman was not finished, and whether because he thought Ferdinand had stretched Hungary too thin with his power grab or because it simply fit his general plan, in 1529 at the absolute zenith of Ottoman power in Europe he went after the Austrian capital for the first time with the unsuccessful Siege of Vienna.

These unresolved, less-than-absolute claims of sovereignty by the Habsburgs as to who ruled Transylvania and Royal Hungary would seem to fall under what our guide in Vienna referred to as Austrian compromise as opposed to German compromise.  In that case, he was talking about a popular Viennese chocolate cake and conflicting claims to be "Original Sacher Torte" versus "The Original Sacher-Torte."  Austrian compromise means living with ambiguity until the situation can be settled later, whereas German compromise would require immediate satisfaction, even if that would mean a duel to the death over whose cake was the original.

As it turned out, the talons of the Habsburgs overcame occasional setbacks like those at the hands of Suleiman and Napoleon, clinging fast to Hungary through World War I.

In 1699, at the culmination of the 15 year Turkish War, the Ottomans withdrew entirely from Hungary, marking the first time they had lost significant territory after centuries of expansion.

When Maria Theresa was crowned King of Hungary in 1741, she promised to keep a residence in Hungary as well as Austria.

Pressburger Schloss (Bratislava Castle), which was just across the border from Austria, served that purpose.

As her successful reign progressed, Maria Theresa began remodeling Pressburger Schloss in the ornate Rococo style she preferred

Getting back to the promise at the end of my last lengthy post, Empress Maria Theresa's favorite child was Maria Christina.  Both strong-willed and extremely intelligent, "Mimi" was the most like her mother.

Her parents ensured Mimi received an excellent education, and she developed to be a fine artist by any standards, irregardless of her royal position.

Add in her beauty, and it becomes obvious why her siblings might be a bit jealous when their mother treated Mimi as her favorite.

Like Maria Theresa, who had been allowed to marry for love,  Mimi eschewed unions with more promising Princes to marry the younger son of the King of Saxony (Poland) rather than the heir apparent to the throne of a more significant prospective ally like France.

Albert of Saxe-Teschen was merely the Duke of Teschen, a title that would proceed to be held by Habsburgs for future generations.

However, they did not marry until 1765, when Mimi's father had passed away, possibly indicating the Emperor never gave the final green light to the marriage.

Mimi and her hubby moved to the beautifully refurbished Pressburger Schloss in 1766, and acting as a mother-in-law who wanted her favorite daughter to be married to a successful man, Maria Theresa appointed Albert Governor.

Because the Governor needed more space, a new palace in Classic style was built inside the walls.

Further upgrades included gardens similar to Schönbrunn Palace plus summer and winter riding schools along the lines of the Spanish Riding School in Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

In addition, Maria Theresa upgraded the furnishings, adding more valuable art.

While she visited there in keeping with her promise to live there part of the time, this remodeling would seem to be primarily for the benefit of her favorite child while at the same time providing mother and daughter the opportunity to maintain their close relationship.

Maria Theresa died in 1780, and the next year Mimi's brother Emperor Joseph II eliminated the position of Governor and moved many of the treasures to Vienna.

Did sibling jealousy weigh into those decisions?

In any case, Albert and Mimi took some treasures with them to Brussels for Albert's new position as Governor of Austrian Netherlands (modern day Belgium).

In 1783, Emperor Joseph II moved the seat of power to Buda (half of today's Budapest) and the Hungarian Crown Jewels to Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

Stripped of its treasures, Pressburger Schloss became a Catholic seminary.

In 1802, the aging seminary became a military barracks housing 1500 soldiers.  That made it a target for bombardment by Napoleon's forces in 1809 after Austria joined Britain in the Fifth Coalition to break the French Empire.

Austria had stayed out of the Fourth Coalition, abiding by terms of the Treaty of Pressburg, but no peace lasts forever, it seems.

By the way, all of the photos in this post are from our port stop in Bratislava (formerly known as Pressburg), except the last one which is a picture of Bratislava from the AmaWaterways brochure.

Istanbul's Topkapi Palace

The Mandatory Last Stop of Our Tour

Surrounding Istanbul's many mosques and other historic sites is a modern, secular city.

Most men in Turkey dress in a way that would make them indistinguishable from the average resident of New York or Los Angeles.

Unlike the town of Dikili, where it seemed like women must either refrain or are not allowed to go out in public, in Istanbul as much as 40% of the population out-and-about is female, depending on the part of the city.

In tourist areas like Topkapi Palace on a hot, sunny day, most of the women also wear American-style clothes, and those wearing Hijabs generally did not wear Khimars (veils) over their faces.

Tourist Area Near the Blue Mosque

Away from the tourist areas, more women wear traditional Muslim garments, but almost none were dressed in the extreme head to toe Burka or Abaya, or showed only their eye's behind a Niqab.

Still, you would not confuse the dress code for that found in Redondo Beach on a sunny day.

Traditionally Dressed Sitters at Topkapi Palace

When entering mosques, you are not allowed to expose your knees or shoulders, so despite being a hot day, most everyone wears long pants or skirts.

Like many other women, Julie brought a scarf to slip on in mosques, but it's not necessary to swelter under wraps all day as in some Muslim countries.

View From Above Our Restaurant

Beyond wearing long pants on a hot day, I never felt out of place, except a brief time on our way to lunch when I took too long trying to jockey for a photo of the Bosporus Strait.

I didn't feel unsafe among the crowd, but I worried I might never find my group again after everyone continued beyond the range of my ear piece to hear my guide.

Like Quinn trailing someone from a distance on the TV show Homeland, I had to make a quick choice: head further down the street and around the corner, or down a flight of steps to where hundreds of others were already eating lunch on a terrace.

Down the stairs I bounded.

Quickly scanning the outdoor seating, I saw no one I recognized, so I headed inside the restaurant.  A crackling sound in my ear alerted me I was heading in the right direction.

Julie and Our Table Mates At Lunch

The lobby area was jammed, so I cut down a server's hallway and came into a banquet area just as Julie walked in and the guide's voice clarified in my ear.

We sat at our window table with a view of the Bosporus Strat and enjoyed a delicious, multi-course lunch of regional foods.

First Course Included Great Hummus and Other Med Treats

Okay, it wasn't exactly edge-of-your-seat drama, but the thought of meeting Julie back on the ship that night and explaining how I could be so careless as to get lost in a city of 14 million people where I don't speak the language had my heart racing.

The city, however, doesn't feel menacing.  It is very clean, which in turn makes it feel safe.

Topkapi Palace Building With Identifying Sign

You don't see graffiti or slovenly dressed individuals.  Everyone seems quite polite.

It would be great if Istanbul would be used as a role model for other Muslim nations.

It should be noted that unlike in some countries, women officially have equal rights in Turkey, including the rights to be educated and to drive cars.

Julie at Entrance to Topkapi Palace

The modern, secular perspective. however, is put in historical context by the huge building that once housed the Ottoman Sultan's Harem, where the Sultan and his sons visited dozens of concubines with no other men allowed except black eunuch slaves who were guards, spoke for a different era under the Ottoman Empire.

Topkapi Palace Wall

Our tour did not include admission to the Harem, but our guide piqued our interest with a few words.

To be selected to join the Harem was deemed a great privilege.  The women of the Harem lived in relative splendor and received an education to read, write, play instruments, dance, sing and sexually please the Sultan.

Hagia Irene, a Byzantine church enclosed within Topkapi
Palace Walls, was used as armory, storehouse and then
museum by Ottomans.  Now, it's a classical music venue
Over Byzantine history, the church was re-built after
mulitple disasters  and also expanded from the original
basilica dedicated by Constantine I in the 4th Century.

Their job was to please the Sultan in any way possible, and their education was geared toward that objective, but during the 19th century, educational opportunities for other women began to open.

To be selected as a concubine was an honored position.  If she played all of her cards perfectly, gaining the highest favor of the current Sultan, she might rise to become the future Valide Sultan, or mother of the next Sultan, and be in charge of the Harem.  This was the highest position attainable for a woman in the Ottoman Empire.

While definitely Muslim at its heart, the Ottoman Empire in many ways carried on traditions of the Byzantine Empire.

Ornate Ceilings are Topkapi norm.

Constantine-conqueror Sultan Mehmed II and his successors didn't needlessly destroy buildings which could be re-purposed, and they took the same approach to conquered people.

Early on, Ottomans accepted soldiers from conquered kingdoms into their own military and rewarded top performers with a great deal of responsibility as officers.

Eventually, some Christians and Jews earned positions in government administration, and as long as they were essentially monotheistic (notwithstanding the Roman Catholic tradition of the holy trilogy which was a point of contention in the Eastern Orthodox Church), the Muslims were for the most part tolerant.

Polytheists, like Arabs committed to regional religions that existed prior to Mohammed's revelation, were not acceptable to the Ottoman new world order, and they were chased away from civilized regions into the barren desert wasteland we now call oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the rise of Islam, Arab tribes were in constant conflict with each other.

Raiding and taking plunder from other tribes was a way of life.

Mohammed declared that this practice of plundering fellow Muslims to be a sin, and cutting off this method of redistribution of wealth, the Muslims warmly embraced the honored alternative of raiding and plundering infidels of foreign lands.

The territory captured was to the glory of Allah, so the military found motivation in heavenly as well as earthly reward, as did the Sultan.

By the time the Ottoman Empire began in 1299, the Byzantines and Persians (latter day Iran) had been significantly weakened by centuries battling each other.  Intrigues in Europe derailed a new Crusade, and the Ottoman Empire grew rapidly.

The Ottomans eventually controlled most of Eastern Europe, closing in on the border of present day Austria.

As you may recall, the Muslim Moors had previously conquered Spain in 711, sweeping through the Iberian Peninsula.  They challenged France with designs deeper into Europe, but Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) stopped their advance at the Battle of Tours in 737.

As a side note, Charles Martel was the first Carolingian Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (western Europe) and the grandfather of the enlightened Emperor Charlemagne.

The Spanish Reconquista did not drive the Moors from Europe until 1492, the same year Spain financed the first exploratory voyage of Christopher Columbus.  That was 39 years after Ottomans captured the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), Constantinople, which is now called Istanbul, on May 29, 1453.

Sultan Mehmed II set up court in the Great Palace of Constantinople, but he found it in ill repair, so he sought a new location, settling on the site of the Byzantine Acropolis.  He laid out the palace behind new high walls in a pattern that would be preserved for the ages.

The powerful Ottoman Empire became incredibly wealthy through control of trade and conquest of new territories.

The overused adjective palatial doesn't adequately describe Topkapi Palace, with its opulent buildings among sprawling grounds.  The total area is about 50% larger than Vatican City.

Perhaps even more impressive than the palace itself are the treasures housed within it, including decorative and deadly weapons, intricate clocks and a Pink Panther-enticing trove of shimmering jewels, which were received over centuries from kingdoms and other wealthy traders in tribute to the Sultans whose lands and waters they traversed.

One brooch holds the 86 carat Spoonmaker's Diamond, which is surrounded by 49 smaller but sizeable diamonds.

Photography is not allowed inside the museums, but check out the video below for some indication of what we saw.

It's truly astounding to see all of these symbols of wealth on display.

I couldn't help wondering how these collections managed to remain preserved through the fall of the Ottoman Empire, occupation by the British and subsequent founding of the Republic of Turkey, when financial demands could undoubtedly have been used as justification to sell most if not all of it.

Hagia Irene in Foreground with Blue Mosque in Distance

In the final analysis, Topkapi Palace, like other castles in Europe, makes a wonderful tourist attraction.  It continues to yield rewards to the Turkish government treasury while preserving precious artistry and gems of the past for future generations.