| Topkapi Palace Museum |
| Holy Relics Section |
The
gateway from the Treasury to the left leads to the Pavillion of Holy Relics("Hýrka-i
Saadet Dairesi") which is on the NW corner of the Third Courtyard. In this
section, the relics of Prophet Mohammed and other sacred objects are preserved.
These objects were brought by Selim I after the conquest of Egypt in 1517 when
the Sultan had the title of "Caliph". A Caliph is like a
pope, he assumes the religious leadership of all over Islam World. The Holy
Relics Section consists of 3 rooms.
The first room on the right from the entrance has a lovely decorated dome. The little room on the right is reserved for the "Imam", the religious person who is charged with reading Holy Koran all day long to give an idea to the foreigners about Koran. The other relics are boxes containing holy hairs of Prophet Mohammed, his footprint and old examples of Holy Koran. The golden case on the left is the cover of "Hacer-ul Esved" which is a holy piece of rock in Mecca. The room left to it is the one, the golden case containing holy mantle of Prophet and his swords.
Upon leaving the room, one returns back to the entry room, where mosque models and swords of the caliphs are displayed. There is also a piece from the wooden gate of Kaabah. On the left, comes the third room which another footprint of Prophet, relics belonging to other caliphs, cases containing Prophet's beard hairs and a zamzam bottle are displayed. "The zamzam" is a sacred water which is believed to be good to people. It is brought from Mecca by the muslims who go there for pilgrimage ("Hac"). The room is decorated with superb and lovely Iznik Tiles.