Honor and Splendor

Every year my family has a summer vacation, and this year we went to Bucharest and Istanbul. Bucharest was a letdown, to be honest. Bucharest was once called the Little Paris of the East, but it's recovered badly from the Commnist era and no longer lives up to its moniker. Istanbul was incredible though, I was constantly in awe of the beauty of the Bosphorus and the many mosques.

The Sultan's Mother's apartments within the Harem in the Topkapi Palace. The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence for the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years, from 1456 to 1856. It was replaced by the Dolmabahçe Palace because the Topkapi Palace was out of date in luxury and style. While the Dolmabahçe Palace can only be viewed in tour groups, the Topkapi Palace is free for roaming. Pictures are also allowed (without flash) save in a few areas such as the treasuries and the mosque which hold treasures and relics of Prophets (I saw the footprint of Muhammed and the arm of Joseph).

Just as in the Dolmabahçe Palace, the apartments of the Sultan's mother were the nicest.