The Topkapı Palace Museum known as Topkapi Palace or in Turkish Topkapı Sarayı is a palace in Istanbul. This Palace was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans, from 1465 to 1853. At the height of its existence as a royal residence, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people.
The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today. After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Topkapı Palace was transformed into Topkapi museum a museum of the imperial era.
The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture and also contains large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry.
The palace has a great view of the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, with the Bosphorus in plain sight from many points of the palace. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings and rooms.
The Privy Chamber houses the Chamber of the Sacred Relics. It houses the cloak of the prophet Muhammad, his sword, one tooth, a hair of his beard, his battle sabres, an autographed letter and other relics that are known as the Sacred Trusts. Several other sacred objects are on display, such as the swords of the first four Caliphs, the staff of Moses
The Harem one of the sections of the private apartments of the sultan. The word harem, meaning taboo, had been used for a family concept in the Islamic society. Harem is the secret and prohibited place where the dynasty lived in the Ottoman Palace and was home to the wives of the Sultan.
Many of the trees in the Topkapi Palace are remarkable since most of them fell victim to a fungus that completely hollowed the trunk out over the centuries. Even though the trees still survive until today and are standing. This phenomenon can be seen in the Second Courtyard.
Visit the official website of Topkapi Palace for more information http://www.topkapisarayi.gov.tr/