Relics of Muhammad
Traditionally, Islam has had a rich history of the veneration of relics, especially of those attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. There exists historical evidence that some of the earliest Muslims practiced the veneration of relics, and the practice continued to remain popular in many parts of the Sunni Islamic world until the eighteenth-century, when the reform movements of Salafism and Wahhabism began to staunchly condemn such practices due to their linking it with the sin of "shirk" (idolatry). As a result of the influence of these perspectives, some contemporary Muslims influenced by these ideologies have rejected the traditional practice of relic-veneration altogether. The most genuine prophetic relics are believed to be those housed in Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, in a section known as "Hirkai Serif Odasi" (Chamber of the Holy Mantle).
Topkapı Palace
The Apartments of the Queen Mother ("Valide Sultan Dairesi"), together with the apartments of the sultan, form the largest and most important section in the harem. It was constructed after the Queen Mother moved into the Topkapı Palace in the late 16th century from the Old Palace ("Eski Saray"), but had to be rebuilt after the fire of 1665 between 1666-1668. Some rooms, such as the small music room, have been added to this section in the 18th century.
Only two of these rooms are open to the public: the dining room with, in the upper gallery, the reception room and her bedroom with, behind a lattice work, a small room for prayer. On the lower stories of the apartments are the quarters of the concubines, while the upper story rooms are those of the Queen Mother and her ladies-in-waiting ("kalfas"). The apartments of the Queen Mother are connected by a passage, leading into the Queen Mother's bathroom, to the quarters of the sultan.