Arms and Armor in Top Kapi Palace, Istanbul
 

Top Kapi is one of Istanbuls main attractions and if you like arms and armor, you will not be disappointed visiting it. Here are some pictures of what you can see there.

The armory houses the swords of Ottoman sultans, some of their gifts and trophies and some examples of Islamic arms and armor picked for their exceptional craftsmanship and/or historical significance.

The black backgrounds and low lighting make it difficult to take pictures. On top of this, the place gets pretty crowded and I only had split seconds to take my shots without anyone obstructing the exhibits, so apologies for some of the pictures being a little blurry.

From an Umayyad blade to the sword of Stephen the Great of Moldavia, Top Kapi houses some incredible treasures.

What Top Kapi lacks in quantity compared to Askeri, it more than makes up for it in quality.

thnx a lot for these very nice pics !
:)


for those interested, I can recommend the museum's book on cold weapons:

"The arms of the sultans. The arms collection of Topkapi Palace" by Hilmi Aydin
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9751745799 / ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9751745798

Apart from the armory, there are a few children's swords and bows among the clothing gallery. More importantly, the relics gallery contains some of the Holys Swords of Islam ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, and the Rashidun, which are of course well documented in Ucel's book.

Where the relics are, the lighting is so much better, making it easier to take photos. From I remember from 25 years ago, when I first visited Top Kapi, picture taking of the relics used to be prohibited, but nowadays surprisingly it is not and I took full advantage.

Finally, there is the Treasury, which has some of the most lavishly decorated examples of Islamic arms and armor in the world.

The treasury ends with a magnificent broadsword, most probably Mameluke even if attributed to Caliph Uthman. It is certainly a suitable ending to the tour.

I have the book and it is a nice budget alternative to Unsal Ucel's book. The pictures inside are nice and big. Unfortunately, it is entirely in Turkish so I have no way of commenting on the text. I bought it online a few years ago, which was a good thing, as it is not available in the Museum shop in Top Kapi anymore.