Turkish Cuisine, Food and History

Topkapi Palace: 

•  The home for 400 years of ruling Sultan’s in Istanbul, this is a not to be missed site. The second palace built in Istanbul after its conquest by the Turks, it served as the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. This palace’s maze of oppulent buildings is where the sultans, their courts, and their harems lived and governed. You will visit Harem, the palace kitchens, located in the second courtyard, also known as Divan or Justice Square, constitute one of the most magnificent elements of Topkapı Palace when viewed from Marmara. It was known as Matbah-ı Amire. In Arabic, “matbah” means “the place where cooking takes place” and “amire” designates an adjective belonging to the state.

Balat :

• Whether it's the Iron Church of Saint Stephens (yes made completely of Iron) and located on the Golden horn or the beauty of the Orthodox Churches or the numerous Synagogues located here-  a visit to Balat is a step back in time, but with a very current even progressive vibe.  

Tekfur Palace :

• Also called Palace of Porphyrogenitus- is the best preserved Byzantine palaces surviving in Istanbul.
• The location of the palace was crucial, because it was situated at the highest point of Constantinople (Byzantine Istanbul) on the northwest corner of the city, therefore controlling the Golden Horn, Pera (today’s Galata), and city itself.