Third Courtyard News Today

Did you know that Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul encompasses four distinct courtyards, each revealing unique aspects of Ottoman history?

This weekend-long itinerary hits all the best spots,

​​The best new cafes, bars and restaurants, as well, are often found outside Old Town, in neighborhoods such as Dejvice, Vinohrady, Holesovice, Karlin and New Town. Stop by for a coffee, hit up one of the many great new bakeries or visit a charismatic old beer hall as you explore a city that is clearly entering its prime.

The Czech capital is finding a new balance between preserving its past and embracing the future.

Bruce Berglund’s fascinating Castle and Cathedral in Modern Prague, published in Czech in January, focuses on the early years of Czechoslovakia, when President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was forging the new state. This included making Prague Castle the symbolic heart of the new democracy and, Berglund writes, an ambitious plan for a new religion for the country that TGM founded in 1918. I spoke to the historian from his home in Minnesota. One thing I found really fascinating in your book is whe...