Topkapi Palace and Archaeological Museum

After lunch we met back up with our guide and the teachers and walked over to this giant complex that holds the palace and the museum.  When we walked into the palace I thought about how giant it was.  the kitchens alone were probably a little longer than a football field.  Since the guides aren't allowed to speak inside the buildings (the palace is a group of buildings in a complex with gardens between buildings). He explained what each building held and a little history about the people that lived there.  He left us on a terrace that overlooks the Bosphorus (the strait that separates Europe and Asia).  Naturally the first place that Lihn, Kara, and I wanted to go was the treasury.  Among some of the lavish contents there were gold bassinets, crowns, jeweled daggers, and the spoon makers diamond. This diamond gets its name because it was found in the trash by a spoon maker. I wonder how this 86 carat diamond ended up in the trash. After the treasury we went over to where the sacred relics are held.  We saw things like David's (as in David and Goliath from the Bible) sword, Moses' staff, the prophet's teeth and beard, and swords that belonged to rulers of Islam.  After that we went to the library, receiving room, and the place that housed the concubines. There really wasn't much to these rooms just basically couches and standing room (and of course books in the library). Also at the palace was a traveling exhibit of portraits that European artists had done of the different sultans. We left the palace and walked over to the Archaeological Museum. There we saw pieces from all of the different ages of Turkey. You really don't realize how long a country has been around until you see just how old some of the artifacts are.  In fact, recently discovered in Turkey was the oldest archaeological site in the world.  My favorite part of the museum though were the pieces recovered from Troy. I am reading the Iliad and it helped to bring the story to life.  Also at the museum we tried Turkish coffee.  The custom is to drink a sip of the coffee and then a sip of water. I didn't much care for the coffee but then I don't like any coffee so I am not the best judge.  That is pretty much all for our tours today.
Later after dinner, Kara, Ben, and I went for a walk and we found a concert that was going on in a park near our hotel. Even though I had no idea what the songs were about they were really pretty.  There was about 5 singers and a giant band with everything from trombones to keyboards.  We went back to the hotel after because we needed to get some work done.