During their 470-year reign, the Ottoman sultans amassed a glittering collection of treasures. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 this was nationalized and the bulk of it put on display in Topkapi Palace. As well as diplomatic gifts and articles commissioned from the craftsmen of the palace workshops, a large number of items in the collection were brought back as booty from successful military campaigns. Many such trophies date from the massive expansion of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Selim the Grim (1512-20), when Syria, Arabia and Egypt were conquered.

CERAMICS, GLASS AND SILVERWARE

The kitchens contain the palace's collection of ceramics, glass and silverware. Turkish and European pieces are massively overshadowed here by the vast display of Chinese and, to a lesser extent, Japanese porcelain. This was brought to Turkey along the Silk Route, the overland trading link between the Far East and Europe. Topkapi's collection of Chinese porcelain is the world's second best after China itself.
The Chinese porcelain on display spans four dynasties: the Sung (10—13th centuries), followed by the Yiian (13-14th centuries), the Ming (14—17th centuries) and the Ching (17-20th centuries). Celadon, the earliest form of Chinese porcelain collected by the sultans, was made to look like jade, a stone believed by the Chinese to be lucky. The Ottomans prized it because it was said to neutralize poison in food. More delicate than these are a number of exquisite blue-and-white pieces, mostly of the Ming era.
Chinese aesthetics were an important influence on Ottoman craftsmen, particularly in the creation of designs for their fledgling ceramics industry at İznik . Although there are no İznik pieces in the Topkapi collection, many of the tiles on the palace walls originated there. These clearly show the influence of designs used for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, such as stylized flowers and cloud scrolls. Much of the later porcelain, particularly the Japanese Imari ware, was made specifically for the export market. The most obvious examples of this are some plates decorated with quotations from the Koran. A part of the kitchens, the old confectioners' pantry, has been preserved as it would have been when in use. On display are huge cauldrons and other utensils wielded by the palace's chefs as they prepared to feed its 12.000 residents and guests.

ARMS AND ARMOUR

Taxes and tributes from all over the empire were once stored in this chamber, which was known as the Inner Treasury. Straight ahead as you enter are a series of horse-tail standards. Carried in processions or displayed outside tents, these proclaimed the rank of their owners. Viziers , for example, merited three, and the grand vizier five, while the sultan's banner would flaunt nine.
The weaponry includes ornately embellished swfords and several bows made by sultans themselves (Beyazıt Iİ was a particularly fine craftsman). Seen next to these exquisite items, the huge iron swords used by European caisaders look crude by comparison. Also on view are pieces of 15th-century Ottoman chain-mail and colourful shields. The shields have metal centres surrounded by closely woven straw painted with flowers.

IMPERIAL COSTUMES

A collection of imperial costumes is displayed in the Hall of the Campaign Pages, whose task was to look after the royal wardrobe. It was a palace tradition that on the death of a sultan his clothes were carefully folded and placed in sealed bags. As a result, it is possible to see a perfectly preserved kaftan once worn by Mehmet the Conqueror . The reforms of Sultan Mahmut II included a revolution in the dress code . The end of an era came as plain grey serge replaced the earlier luxurious silken textiles.

TREASURY

Of all the exhibitions in the palace, the Treasury's collection is the easiest to
appreciate, glittering as it does with thousands of precious and semi-precious stones. The only , surprise is that there are so few women's jewels here. Whereas the treasures of the sultans and viziers were owned by the state and reverted to the palace on their deaths, those belonging to the women of the court did not. In the first hall stands a full, diamond-encrusted suit of chainmail. designed for Mustafa III (1757-74) for ceremonial use. Diplomatic gifts include a fine pearl statuette of a prince seated beneath a canopy, which was sent to Sultan Abdül Aziz dagger (1861-76)
from India. The greatest pieces are in the second hall. Foremost among these is the Topkapi dagger (1741). This splendid object was commissioned by the sultan from his own jewellers. It was intended as a present for the Shah of Persia, but he died before it reached him. Among other exhibits here are a selection of the bejewelled aigrettes (plumes) which added splendour to imperial turbans.
In the third hall, the 86-carat Spoonmaker's diamond is said to have been discovered in a rubbish heap in Istanbul in the 17th century, and bought from a scrap merchant for three spoons. The gold-plated Bayram throne was given to Murat III  by the Governor of Egypt in 1574 and used for state ceremonies until early, this century.
It was the throne in the fourth hall, given by the Shah of Persia, which was to have been acknowledged by the equally magnificent gift of the Topkapi dagger. In a cabinet near the throne is an unusual relic: a case containing bones said to be from the hand of St John the Baptist.

MINIATURES AND MANUSCRIPTS

It is possible to display only a tiny fraction of Topkapi's total collection of over 13.000 miniatures and manuscripts at any one time. Highlights of it include a series of depictions of warriors and fearsome creatures known as Demons and Monsters in the Life of Nomads, which was painted by Mohammed Siyah Qalem, possibly as early as the 12th century. It is from this Eastern tradition of miniature painting, which was also prevalent in Mogul India and Persia, that the ebullient Ottoman style of miniatures developed.
Also on show are some fine examples of calligraphy I , including texts of the Koran, manuscripts of poetry and several firmans, the imperial decrees by which the sultan ruled his empire.

CLOCKS

European clocks given to, or bought by, various sultans form the majority of this collection, despite the fact that there were makers of clocks and watches in Istanbul from the 17th century. The clocks range from simple, weight-driven 16th-century examples to an exquisite 18th-century English mechanism encased in mother-of-pearl and featuring a German organ which played tunes on the hour to the delight of the harem.
Interestingly, the only male European eyewitness accounts of life in the harem were written by the mechanics sent to service these instalments.

PAVILION OF THE HOLY MANTLE

Some of the holiest relics of Islam are displayed in these five domed rooms, which are a place of pilgrimage for Muslims. Most of the relics found their way to Istanbul as a result of the conquest by Selim the Grim of Egypt and Arabia, and his assumption of the caliphate (the leadership of Islam) in 1517.
The most sacred treasure is the mantle once worn by the Prophet Mohammed. Visitors cannot actually enter the room in which it is stored, instead they look into it from an antechamber through an open doorway. Night and day, holy men continuously chant passages from the Koran over the gold chest in which the mantle is stored. A stand in front of the chest holds two of Mohammed's swords.
A glass cabinet in the anteroom contains hairs from the beard of the Prophet, a letter written by him and an impression of his footprint.
In the other rooms you can see some of the ornate locks and keys for the Kaaba  which were sent to Mecca by successive sultans. (s1)