Topkapi Palace Museum Holy Relics Istanbul – Chapter 1

Topkapi Palace Museum Holy Relics Istanbul – Chapter 1,

The greatest treasures of Topkapi Palace are the Holy Relics. These relics, revered by the Islamic World, have a spiritual value that defies estimate according to material criteria. The boxes, cases, and cloths in which the Holy Relics are kept are each in themselves masterpieces. Some are made of gold, some of the silver, and they are decorated with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, dazzling to the eye. The Holy Relics are kept in the Hirka-i Saadet section of Topkapi Palace, as they have been for centuries, and can be visited. It used to be called the Has (private) apartment and was one of the first buildings constructed by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. It is an architectural masterpiece with four domes, an exedra and decorated with tiles. It was originally used as a conference room during the time of the Conqueror and became the Hirka-i Saadet Apartment during the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim.
After conquering Egypt the Sultan was given the title of Caliph, and while preparing to return to Istanbul The Sherif of Mecca sent his son EBU Numey to Cairo to give the keys of Mecca and Medina and some of the relics to the Sultan. Yavuz was very pleased with this gesture of the Sherif of Mecca and issued an edict proclaiming that the Sherif should be left in his post. The Sultan returned to Istanbul with the relics and put them in the Has Apartment and the Topkapi Palace Treasury. Gradually a tradition grew up ‘whereby visits were made to the relics with special ceremonies. Because the Hirka-i Saadet (cloak) of the Prophet Mohammad ‘was among them, the rooms where the relics were kept was renamed after it.

You can continue to find more information about the Holy relics in Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum in chapter 2.