Topkapi Palace
The Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi) was the residency of Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years after its construction in 1453. Its ornately gilded and marbled interior was the perfect setting for the dramas of the Ottoman Empire, and there appears to be a room for every event and every occasion - from a Circumcision Room to a cloakroom for Prophet Mohammed's cloak.

Although Topkapi grew and changed over the years it retained its basic four-courtyard approach. The first courtyard is the Court of the Janissaries, a kind of glorified army barracks where the elite soldiers of the sultanate mixed freely with merchants and tradespeople.

The Middle Gate (Ortakapi) led into the second court where the business of running the empire was conducted by the sultan and valide sultan (queen mother). Inside the court is a beautiful park-like setting with a series of pavilions, kitchens, barracks and kiosks that once served the daily needs of both the palace high-borns and hoi polloi. Of special interest is the Harem; the space that, contrary to lewd expectations of concubines and priapic emperors, was the equivalent of today's Royal Family living quarters. Every detail of Harem life was governed by tradition, obligation and ceremony, and the hundreds of rooms are lavishly furnished.

The Third Court, entered via the Gate of Felicity, also known as the Gate of the White Eunuchs, was (unsurprisingly) presided over by an elite corps of white eunuchs, personal aides and bodyguards to the sultan himself. The sultan had his private living quarters inside the Third Court. The Fourth Court was at the northeasternmost part of the complex and contains a restaurant, gardens, several kiosks and the Circumcision Room.

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
The Blue Mosque was the result of a bit of one-upmanship by Sultan Ahmet I, who was determined to build an edifice that would outshine Emperor Justinian's paean to Christendom, the Aya Sophia. He almost succeeded. The Blue Mosque is a triumph of harmony, proportion and elegance.

The best way to approach the mosque is to go out to the Hippordrome and approach the mosque from its front. Walk through the gate in the peripheral wall. A series of domes, starting with the one atop the gate, ripple upwards, drawing the viewer's eye ever-closer to heaven, an effect that the architect, Mehmet Aga, fully intended. The main dome crowns the whole, with a forest of smaller domes clustered around it. The getting-closer-to-Allah effect is reinforced by pencil-thin minarets, also reaching skyward, surrounding the domes.

The Ottoman design is carried through to the ablution fountains in the centre of the courtyards, the arabesques painted on the domes, the blue Iznik tiles (hence the mosque's name) that line the interior walls, and, although only replacements, the luminous stained-glass windows that filter the outside light.

The mosque is such a popular tourist sight that entry is strictly controlled so as to preserve its sacred atmosphere. Only worshippers can enter through the main door; tourists must use the north door and are not admitted at prayer time. It's also presently undergoing restoration so some areas are marred by scaffolding.

Anadolu and Rumeli Hisari
On the Asian side of the Bosphorus, Anadolu Hisari is a small castle built during the 1390s by Sultan Beyazit. Together with Rumeli, on the European side built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452, the two fortresses had complete control of passing transport between the Black Sea and the Marmara. Rumeli, an early Ottoman fortress built in only four months, before the Ottoman conquest of the city, to prevent the aides of Byzantine from the north.

Anadolu is always open to explore the walls, and Rumeli has a small open-air theatre showing concerts and plays in summer. There is also a café perched on the top, a popular place in summer evenings for tea, served from great samovars, and light meals. Both fortresses have, of course, a great panoramic view of the Bosphorus.

Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art
Built in 1524 by Ýbrahim Pasa, the Grand Vizier to Suleyman the Magnificent, this was originally a palace and the grandest private residences in the Ottoman Empire – and one of the few which have survived. Some of it, however, was destroyed and rebuilt in stone to the original designs in 1843.

Now home to the museum, this is considered one of the finest collections of Islamic art in the world, with a superb display of ceramics, metalwork, miniatures, calligraphy and textiles, as well as some of the oldest carpets in the world. Equally as impressive is the grace of the building, with the central courtyard giving something of an insight into the atmosphere of the residence.

Opposite is the Great Hall, which houses a collection of Turkish carpets, with exquisite antique carpets and kilims and one of the finest collections in the world, the oldest exhibit dating back to 13th century.

Military Museum
Highlight of this museum is definitely the Mehter Takimi, the Ottoman military band, which performs every afternoon between 15.00 – 16.00. It also has a good collection of Ottoman military memorabilia, like the cotton and silk tents used by the sultans at war, and armour and weaponry like heavily decorated jambiyah daggers.

The band, which originated in 1289, became an institution which came to symbolise the power and independence of the Ottoman empire, and these musicians, who were janissaries, always accompanied the Sultans into battle. But quite apart from their benefit on the battlefield, they came to create new musical styles in Europe, and even influencing Mozart and Beethoven.