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Immediately to the north of Aya Sofya, the Topkapi Palace (daily 9am-5pm; $4) is the other unmissable sight in the area. Shortage of funds and ongoing restoration work means parts of the museum and some less important palace rooms are often closed, but this is unlikely to spoil your visit - there's still plenty of interest on view. Built between 1459 and 1465, the palace consists of a collection of buildings arranged around a series of courtyards and was the centre of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries until the removal of the retinue to Dolmabahce in 1853. The first courtyard, as service area of the palace, was always open to the general public and is today home to the ticket office. The second courtyard is the site of the now beautifully restored Divan , with the Imperial Council Hall and the couch which gave the institution its name. The Divan tower , visible from many vantage points all over the city, was rebuilt in 1825 by Mahmut II. Next door is the Inner Treasury (currently closed), a six-domed hall that holds an exhibition of arms and armour. Across the courtyard are the palace kitchens , with their magnificent rows of chimneys. The furthest rooms house a fascinating array of utensils, while others display a collection of some fine porcelain and silverware - an ever-changing display continually replenished from the Topkapi collection. Around the corner is the Harem , which, consisting of over 400 rooms, is well worth the obligatory guided tour (every 30min 9.30am-noon & 1-4pm; $2; buy your ticket at least 15min in advance). The only men that were allowed to enter the harem were black eunuchs and the imperial guardsmen, who were only employed at certain hours and even then blinkered. Many rooms have never been opened to the public and are awaiting restoration, but the tour takes in a good part of the complex, including the Hunkar Sofasi (Imperial Hall) where the sultan entertained his visitors, and the bedchamber of Murat III - a masterwork of the architect Sinan - covered in sixteenth-century Iznik tiles and kitted out with a marble fountain and bronze fireplace. Back in the main body of the palace, in the third courtyard, the throne room , mainly dating from the reign of Selim I, was where the sultan awaited the outcome of sessions of the Divan in order to give his assent or otherwise to their proposals. The room, sadly, is also currently closed but can be viewed through the wide windows. Nearby, the Pavilion of the Conqueror houses the Topkapi treasury, filled with excesses like the Topkapi Dagger, decorated with three enormous emeralds, and the Spoonmaker's Diamond, the fifth-largest in the world. Across the courtyard from the treasury, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle houses the holy relics brought home by Selim the Grim after his conquest of Egypt in 1517, including a footprint, hair and a tooth of the prophet Muhammad as well as his mantle and standard. Next door, the Privy Chamber holds a collection of portraits of sultans (currently closed). Beyond, the fourth courtyard consists of gardens graced with pavilions such as the circumcision room decorated with sixteenth-century Iznik tiles and the Baghdad Pavilion , decorated with tiles and ivory inlaid ceilings, that was built to celebrate Murat IV's Baghdad campaign of 1640. The sumptuously decorated Mecidiye Kosku - the last building to be erected at Topkapi - commands the best view of any of the Topkapi pavilions and was recently re-opened as an annex to the Konyali Restaurant. Just north of Topkapi, Gulhane Parki , once the palace gardens, now houses the Archeological Museum (Tues-Sun 9am-4pm; $3). Sadly many of the galleries are closed, including that housing the spectacular jewellery uncovered at Troy, but it's still worth the admission to see the collection of sarcophagi. The adjacent Cinili Kosk is the oldest secular building in Istanbul, constructed in 1472 as a kind of grandstand from which the sultan could watch sporting activities, now a Museum of Ceramics (Tues-Sun 9.30am-5pm; $4), housing a small but superb collection of Iznik ware and Seljuk tiles. Nearby, the Museum of the Ancient Orient (Wed-Sun 9.30am-5pm; $4) contains a small but dazzling collection of Anatolian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian artefacts.
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