AN 2

Ottoman Visions

(Daily PM Half-day city tour except Tuesdays)

Visit Topkapi Palace, the former imperial residence from where the Great Ottoman Empire was once ruled. Today, it is a spectacular museum that has one of the largest collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelains and the very famous treasury of the Royal Family. Also it has unrivalled collections of jewellery, including the Spoonmaker's Diamond. Continue the tour with the visit of the New Mosque, completed in 1665. Originally named Valide Sultan Mosque, the construction is ordered by Safiye Sultan, the wife of Sultan Murad III and the mother of his successor Sultan Mehmed III, hence the name Valide Sultan meaning Queen Mother. The mosque is an Imperial Mosque and one of the famous architectural landmarks of Istanbul.