Today was the second full day in the amazing city that is Istanbul. We spent the morning walking the grounds of Tokopai Palace, the lavish home to the Ottoman Sultans. Mehmet the Conqueror started work on this palace shortly after the Muslim Conquest in 1453 and it remained the home of the Sultans until the mid-19th century when the Sultan and his family moved into European style palaces that they built along the Bosporous.

We started our visit with a walk through the first and second courtyards of the palace into the labyrinth of rooms that comprised the Sultan’s harem, the imperial family quarters. Next, we entered the third court that contained the treasury of the Sultan’s. We marveled (along with hundreds of others) at all the opulent jewels and gold and diamonds that the Sultan’s and their court acquired. The highlight for me was the golden throne of Ahmet I and the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, an 86-carat rock surrounded by several dozen smaller stones worn by Mehmet IV at this accession to the throne.
After a lovely morning at Topkapi, our group crossed the Bosphorus Bridge and drove to Uskudar. There we watched one of Turkey’s leading Ebru artists, Mr. Hikmet Barutcugil demonstrate this ancient art of Turkey.
We then visited the Istanbul Modern Museum of Art and toured the exhibit of Turkish modern artists. Afterwards we stepped out on the balcony and once again took in the amazing view of the Bosphorous and the Sultenhamet District.
This very busy day last day in ended with a lovely dinner in a restored Ottoman mansion. We enjoyed good conversation, wonderful food and fasul, which is traditional Turkish classical music.