Istanbul-Memoir of the Last Islamic Empire-Part 1

Archeology Museum Archeology Museum

Our first destination in Istanbul was the Archeology Museum located near the Topkapi Palace. This museum display the ancient artifacts belonging from different cultures mostly from Roman era. At first I wonder why all these artifacts are displayed in Istanbul rather than their own country of origin. Did you know that during the Ottoman Empires reign from 14th Century, the Sultans were very powerful with successful conquest of the Balkan and Afrika, from Anatolian to Mesopotamia, Arabian Peninsular, Afghanistan and also part of the greater Europe. The break-up of this empire produced 62 different nation to this day, thats close to a third of the world's countries. I am very impressed, don't you? That is why all the collections from Greek, Rome and even from Egypt are kept in Istanbul as these things are send over from the respective ruler of each county as gifts to the Sultan. Here are some pictures at the Archeology Museum.

Trojan Horse at the children museum. The original Trojan Horse is in the city of Troy, famous for the legendary story from the times of Helen, Queen of Sparta and Paris, the Trojan Prince.

Statue of Cleopatra -Ummi striking the pose...hehe Statue of Alexander the Great Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great Pillar of a woman from the Greek temple- they are called Caryatid Porch (that's what Abi said anyway...hmmm, i wonder why)Sarcophagus of Sidonian King Thabit

What is a sarcophagus you may asked.....well, it is actually the stone or timber coffin that hold the remains of kings, queens or important people during their reign. The ancient people believed this is a way to preserve the mummia before they are brought back to life... what a scary thought that was.

We also visited The Tiled Pavillion located in the courtyard of the Archeology Museum. This place displayed different types of Turkish-Islamic and Ottoman tiles. ceramics and porcelains between 14th and 16th century that were produced from Iznik tile with its distinctive bluish feature (hence the name given to Blue Mosque)

Entrance gate of The Tiled Pavilion. This was one of the first pavillions erected by Sultan Mehmed II after his conquest of Istanbul.Inside the Pavillion Window Pediment

Ummi, I am tired already, let's go back On our way back, we stopped by at the park outside the museum. It is such a nice place to relax and enjoy the summer breeze. The trees are tall and shady with the fountain in the middle creating a cool feeling to all the visitors. Lucky I am one of them :)