Topkapi Palace

My vacation continued in a country I've been trying to visit for a couple years now...Turkey. I had nine whole days to explore Istanbul. I'm not a big fan of traveling alone and luckily I had company for the first couple days from the friend I visited in England. One of our first stops was the Topkapi Palace...of which I managed to not not get a front picture.

One of the rooms (in which photography was forbidden) held some Islamic relics (copies of the Koran etc) and there was someone singing the Koran over a loudspeaker. We thought it was a recording at first until we passed his booth. It being "live" actually made it cooler.

Window grille detail

 

I believe this was the library.

 

Or this was the library...

 

Mother of pearl detail on a door.

 

Creepy fake people.

 

I'm so moving in. I can totally see me living here...with a little more furniture and cable of course. But right? I would fit right in. Although the creepy fake people would have to go. Word of warning to anyone visiting Istanbul though...museums are expensive!! I mean I know I'm spoiled with the free Smithsonian museums and all...but the entrance fee to Topkapi was I think 10 lira ($7) but then you had to pay another 15 lira ($10) to get into the harem...which was one of the cooler sections of the whole palace.