Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace (9am-5pm, closed Tuesday; entrance fee; 0212- 5224422) sits behind the Aya Sofya on top of one of the city’s fabled seven hills. Built by Mehmet II after his army stormed Constantinople in 1453, the palace served as the home of 26 sultans and their court until the mid-19th century when Dolmabahçe Palace was built.

The complex is built around a series of courtyards and encompasses 173 acres of gardens, workshops, kitchens, armories, baths, fountains, halls and residential areas. The palace embodied the force of the Ottoman Empire and manifested power through the inaccessibility of the sultan and his court. Exhibits include swords and daggers, royal clothes, carpets, textiles, ceramics, manuscripts, jewels, armor and paintings.

Topkapi Palace is the city’s main attraction, so get there when it opens and go straight to the Harem to buy tickets for the guided tour, which fills up early. After the Harem you can stroll around the pavilions and spacious grounds at your leisure.

To enter the first courtyard you pass through the Imperial Gate, also known as the Hangman’s Gate because the sultan would display the remains of people executed as a deterrent to others. Once inside, there is the Aya Irini Church, which was once used as an ammunition depot, and behind the church is the Ottoman mint.

Ming Dynasty Collection

The palace kitchens in the second courtyard house 12,000 pieces of porcelain, the third-largest collection in the world. There is row upon row of Ming, Qing and Yuan dynasty vases and dishes. The porcelain had a difficult journey by sea from China passing India and Ceylon before reaching the Red Sea, where they were loaded on to stronger ships and brought into Istanbul.

Opposite the kitchens, which were once catered for up to 5,000 people a day, an exhibition of silverware with Ottoman swords, vases and braziers, as well as gifts from foreign royalty such as a Russian teaset and a miniature mosque by Faberge. To the left in the Second Court is the Armory, displaying more than 400 weapons from the seventh century to the 20th century.

The Third Courtyard

The third courtyard was the private domain of the sultan and was entered by the Gate of Felicity, which was guarded by White Eunuchs. Even more amazing is that the sultan’s throne room, where he received important guests, was watched over by deaf and mute guards.

The former kaftans of the sultans, some of them of preposterous proportions, can be seen in a room to the right as you enter the third courtyard.

The Treasury in the third courtyard has a mesmerizing collection of gems, gold and works of art. The first section contains gold and gemstudded thrones that would have been carried into battle for the sultans. The final section of is by far the most staggering, with the emerald- studded Topkapi dagger, made famous in the 1960s as the target of thieves in the movie Topkapi, and the 86-carat Spoon Maker’s Diamond.

The Room of the Sacred Relics, a former throne room in the far lefthand corner of the courtyard, houses objects of religious significance, many of which were brought back from a conquest of Egypt in the 16th century. The most important relics are the cloak and swords of the Prophet Mohammed, which are kept in a priceless box. The keys to the Ka’aba in Mecca and the first manuscripts of the Koran are also on display.

Palace Gardens

The gardens in the final courtyard of the palace give unrivaled views over the Bosphorus to skyscrapers in modern Istanbul and the cosmopolitan suburbs of the Asian shore. From here, you get the full impact of Istanbul’s heritage as a port with the constant stream of boats chugging across the Bosphorus. The buzz is accentuated by the bleating of car horns outside the city walls below.

The Harem

Myths and legends surround the word harem, conjuring up images of opulence and decadence, of racy parties with hundreds of concubines reclining in luxury. In fact, the word harem means “forbidden” in Arabic, which is taken to mean that the 400 or more rooms were forbidden to visitors expect the sultan.

The harem was the private apartments of the sultan’s mother, legal wives, concubines and children. There would be 300-500 concubines living in the harem, mainly women brought from Eastern Europe because they were considered the most beautiful. They had either been sold into slavery or were gifts to the sultan. Once inside the harem, the women were taught about Islam, as well as culture, music, art, deportment and how to dress.

The sultan would have four official wives and as many as 10 favorite concubines. They were guarded and waited on by an army of 100 black eunuchs, slaves who were brought from Sudan. The eunuchs were trained and castrated in Egypt before being shipped to Istanbul.

The harem is an exquisitely decorated building, full of priceless cobalt blue and red Iznik tiles, stained glass windows and lacquered wood paneling. Even the doors are an extravagant mix of ebony inlaid with mother of pearl. The grandest bedrooms are those of the sultan and his mother, know as the Court of the Sultan Valide. The sultan’s mother lived in apartments at the center of the harem between the sultan’s rooms and those of his wives and favorite concubines in the Court of the Concubines. This gave the sultan’s mother enormous power and enabled her to influence her son’s decisions and control the court.

Generally, concubines lived a captive, but luxurious lifestyle. Even when they were allowed to leave the harem, many women chose to stay. Every time a new sultan ascended to the throne, the harem of the former sultan was moved to one of the other palaces.

Enter the harem through the dark, cobbled passageway that served as the courtyard of the black eunuchs. Beyond the eunuchs’ rooms are those of the favored concubines. Their rooms were set around a wood and timber half-courtyard. At the side of the courtyard is their former swimming pool, though it looks far from hospitable now.

The Imperial Hall is the largest and most lavish of Topkapi’s rooms, which are on a smaller scale than those of the modern palaces of Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi. The hall was used for entertaining. The sultan would sit on his gold throne with his wives to his right and the favorites to his left.

The sultan’s apartments are on the other side of the Imperial Hall. The walls are covered with Iznik tiles, except for the carved shelves where the sultan kept his turbans and books.

The sultan’s hamam is a series of marble and alabaster bathing chambers, each hotter than the previous one. Islam puts a big emphasis on washing and the sultan would be scrubbed and massaged here, often before selecting his concubine. Rather than being a den of spontaneous fornication, the sultan would pick a concubine for the evening and after she had been informed by the Chief Eunuch, she would be bathed, perfumed, dressed and sent a gift. The sultan would then go to her chamber, as few women were allowed inside his private rooms. The date would be recorded in case the concubine became pregnant. If she gave birth to a boy, her status would be elevated to Haseki Sultan.

At the end of the harem is the Golden Passageway, where concubines would line up when the sultan passed through. Generous sultans would throw gold coins on to the floor, giving the passageway its name.

Archaeological Museum

Located in the first courtyard of Topkapi Palace, the museum houses an impressive scale replica of the façade of the Temple to Athena from Assos. There is a sarcophagus said to have contained the remains of Alexander the Great and a stone tablet carved with the Treaty of Kadesh, the first peace treaty, which was signed between the Hittite King Hattusilis III and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II.(Osman Hamdi Bey Yokusu, Gülhane, 0212-5207740, Tuesday to Sunday 9am-5:30pm).