The Topkapı Palace is a palace in Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey. Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish means the "Cannongate Palace". It was built in 1465. The palace was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire. It was turned into a museum at the request of Turkey's first President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1924. It was built on the acropolis, the site of the first settlement in Istanbul. The palace has an very good view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace is surrounded by 5km of walls. It has an area of 700,000 sq. m at the tip of the historical peninsula.
The First Court (or "Alay Meydanı") spans over the entire Seraglio Point and is surrounded by high walls. This court was also known as the Court of the Janissaries or the Parade Court.
The main gate is called Bab-ı Hümayun, simply the Imperial Gate. Apart from the Topkapı Palace, the First Court also contains the old imperial mint (constructed in 1727), the church of Hagia Eirene, the Archeology Museum (constructed during the 19th century) and various fountains, pavilions (for example, the Çinili Pavilion, or Tiled Pavilion) and gardens (including the Gülhane Park, the old imperial rose garden).
The Çinili Pavilion (1472) has many superb examples of Iznik tiles. It now houses the Museum of Islamic Art.
The Fountain of the Executioner is where the executioner washed his hands and sword after a beheading. The Fountain of Ahmed III is an example of Rococo work.
The huge Gate of Greeting ("Bab-üs Selam") leads into the palace and the Second Court ("Divan Meydanı").
The second court is a park surrounded by the palace hospital, bakery, Janissary quarters, stables, the imperial Harem and Divan to the north and the kitchens to the south. The kitchens today contain one of the world's largest collections of Chinese blue-and-white and celadon porcelain, valued by the sultans because it was supposed to change color if the food or drink it contained was poisoned.
The Divan Salonu, or Imperial Council Chamber, was where the sultan's counselors and functionaries met to discuss the empire's affairs. The Sultan could overhear from a concealed grille.
Beyond the Gate of Felicity ("Bab-üs Saadet") is the Third Court which is the heart of the palace, a lush garden surrounded by the Hall of the Privy Chamber ("Has Oda") occupied by the palace officials, the treasury (which contains some of the finest treasures of the Ottoman age, including the Sacred Trusts), the Harem and some pavilions, with the library of Ahmed III in the center.
The Treasury holds some of the most famous and spectacular jewels in the world, including the famous Topkapı Dagger. In 1747, the Sultan had this dagger made for Nadir Shah of Persia, but the Shah was assassinated before the emissary had left the Ottoman Empire's boundaries and so the Sultan retained it. There are three large emeralds in the hilt and the sheath is worked with diamonds and enamel. This dagger was the subject of the famous film "Topkapi".
The Harem was home to the Sultan's mother, the Valide sultan; the concubines and wives of the Sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants. There are approximately 300 rooms (though only about twenty are open to the public), and the Harem housed as many as 500 people, which sometimes amounted up to 300 women, their children, and the eunuchs.
Many of the rooms and features in the Harem were designed by Sinan, a famous architect of the Ottoman Empire.
The Pavilion of the Holy Mantle holds the cloak of Mohammed, his sword, his teeth, his beard, and other relics which are known as the Sacred Trusts. Even the Sultan and his family were permitted entrance only once a year, on the 15th day of Ramadan, during the time when the Palace was a residence. Now any visitor can see these items and many Muslims come on pilgrimage for this purpose.
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles (Greek "Praxeis Apostolon") is a book of the Bible, which now is the fifth in the New Testament. It is often simply called Acts.
Acts tells the story of the Early Christian church, with particular interest for the ministry of the Twelve Apostles and of Paul of Tarsus. The early chapters in Jerusalem, report Jesus's Resurrection, his Ascension, the Day of Pentecost, and the start of the Twelve Apostles' ministry. The later chapters report Paul's conversion, his ministry, and finally his arrest and imprisonment and trip to Rome.
Most people think that the author of Acts also wrote the Gospel of Luke, as Acts 1:1 refers to 'the former treatise have I made, Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach'. The traditional view is that both the two books were written "c." 60 by a companion of Paul named Luke. Many theologians still think so. But some think the books were written by an unknown author at a later date, sometime between 80 and 150.
Firebreak
A Firebreak is a way to fight fires. In a firebreak, there is no vegetation, or other material that can burn. This makes it hard for a fire to jump across the break. Therefore, the spread of a possible fire is delayed.
Slum
A slum is a part of a city or a town where many poor people live. It is a place where people may not have basic needs. Some of these people may also have social disadvantages. There are slums in most of the big cities of the world. They may not be called "slum", however; see shanty town.
Charles Dickens was a great author of Victorian London. His account of the St Giles rookery was:
Dickens, "Sketches by Boz", 1839.
Montauban
Montauban () is a "commune" in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the "préfecture" (capital) of the department.
The town, built mainly with reddish bricks, is on the right bank of the Tarn river at its confluence with the Tescou. It was one of the first bastides in history.
Together with Mont-de-Marsan, Montauban is one of the oldest towns with walls (a bastide) in southern France. It was founded in 1144 by Alphonse Jourdain, Count of Toulouse. Most of the inhabitants came from Montauriol, a village which had grown up around the neighbouring monastery of St Théodard.
In the 13th century the town suffered much during the Albigensian Crusade and from the Inquisition, but by 1317 it had recovered sufficiently to be chosen by the Pope John XXII as the head of a diocese of which the basilica of St Théodard became the cathedral.
In 1360, under the Treaty of Brétigny, the town was given to the English; they were expelled by the inhabitants in 1414. In 1560 the bishops became Protestants; ten years later it became one of the four Huguenot strongholds under the Peace of Saint-Germain, and formed a small independent republic.
In 1790, Montauban was in the Lot department as the capital of a district; with the creation of the "arrondissements" in 1800, Montauban became a "sous-préfecture" in the Lot department. When Napoleon created the Tarn-et-Garonne department in 1809, Montauban became the préfecture (capital) of the new department.
Montauban is at about to the north of Toulouse, on the confluence of the Tescou and the Tarn rivers, and at from Agen ("préfecture" of the Lot-et-Garonne), from Albi ("préfecture" of the Tarn) and at about from Cahors ("préfecture" of the Lot).
It has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
Montauban is surrounded by the "communes" Villemade, Piquecos, Lamothe-Capdeville, Albias, Saint-Étienne-de-Tulmont, Léojac, Saint-Nauphary,Corbarieu,Bressols, Lacourt-Saint-Pierre, Montbeton and Albefeuille-Lagarde.
The climate of Montauban, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Montauban is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .