Istanbul with Neil and Christine - Day 2

Day 2 we visited Topkapi Palace which was the Ottoman's second palace in Istanbul. It is a beautiful and very large palace covering an area of 173 acres. It housed all the Ottoman sultans from Sultan Mehmet II (1478) to Sultan Abdulmecit (1856), nearly 4 centuries and 25 Sultans. It was turned into a museum in 1924.

Outside the Topkapi Palace

The visit to the Harem was the most interesting as this was where the family life was centered. The sultan had large rooms here and so did his mother, up to 4 wives, at least 300 concubines and his numerous children, oh and of course the Eunuchs!! Obviously it was a huge part of the palace.

Ben's wishful thinking, Christine wondering how much it would cost to do one a fireplace like this at home, and the ornate ceilings of the Harem

The sultan's mother was the most important and influential person in the harem. The eunuchs were mainly slaves from Sudan or Ethiopia, up to 200 of them, that guarded and served the harem. The main focus of the harem was as a family home and school. The children of the sultan where educated here as well as the concubines. After a sultan's death, the concubines that had given birth to a son remained in the palace whilst those that had a daughter or none where married out of the harem.

All of the rooms in the harem were spectacularly ornamented with Izman tiles covering the walls so they were all bright blues and deep reds. It was lovely. The baths were all marble and gold taps. In one of the sultan's private rooms there was an ornamental water feature!

A much needed rest after going through the Harem - just the rest of the palace to go!!

After the harem we went to the treasury where on display were gifts to the Ottoman's from other countries as well as swords, thrones, medals and jewels. The two main pieces were the Topkapi Dagger, which is encrusted with emeralds, diamonds and rubies, and the 86-carat, yes 86, diamond. It was apparently found in a bin and sold for 3 spoons, and then brought to the palace and was set in gold with 39 surrounding diamonds. Ben was more amazed at the small chest with uncut emeralds, all thrown in like a junk box!! Some of the thrones were quite amazing and looked like day beds rather than thrones. The Ottoman's certainly had comfort in mind for their designs.

The view from the Topkapi Palace

After the palace we went to the Cozy Pub for lunch. When Ben was here in
2003 with our friend George they came to the Cozy every afternoon for a beer.
The evening we decided to go to a restaurant with views over the blue mosque. Despite the earlier threatening rain it cleared for dinner and for Ben to get some night shots of the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia before starting to rain on the way home.