Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Serayi in Turkish) was the royal palace from 1460 to 1856, when it was replaced by the Dolmbache Palace across the Bosporus Straits. Construction was begun in 1459, 6 years after the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet The Conqueror. Originally it was called the New Palace (Yeni Saray) to distinguish it from the first palace of the Ottomans in what was now Instanbul. It was renamed to Topakapi Palace - "The Cannon Gate". It occupies between 146 and 173 acres.
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Topkapi Palace Schematic (Source) |
The Topkapi Palace was a designed as a series of four courtyards, each courtyard entailing a hierarchy to enter it. The original design was by Mehmet the Conqueror; part of its design was to seclude the Imperial family from the outside world. To this end, a hierarchy was developed that regulated the ability to access the inner parts of the palace and the protocol to be followed. One of the matters of protocol was the observance of silence in the inner courtyards.
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The Bab-ı Hümayun, or Imperial Gate |
The Imperial Gate opened up into the First Court, known as The Court of the Janissaries. In this court was the Royal Mint, the former church of Hagia Irene (used as an armory by the military), as well as several other structures which are no longer present. In this courtyard, visitors would pass through a line of Janissaries and court officials in their formal garb as the walked towards the inner courts.
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Hagia Irene (now Aya Irene) in the background. |
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The Bosporus |
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Hagia Irene |
Moving through the First Courtyard, visitors would come to the Second Gate, the Gate of Salutation (Orta Kapi). The current gate dates from at least A.D. 1542. Visitors were tightly controlled, and any riders had to dismount as only the Sultan could ride through the gate.
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The Gate of Salutation |
The Gate of Salutation opens up into the Second Courtyard, or the Divan Square (Divan Medani). In this courtyard were the entrances to the Harem (sadly, an additional cost on the tour), hospital, Janissary quarters, bakery, stables, and the Divan (the Imperial Council chambers of the Sultan's government). In Ottoman times, the Sultan would have received his visitors here. Peacocks and antelope would have wandered the grounds.
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A view of the Divan |
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Looking towards the Bâbüssaâde, or Gate of Felicity - The entrance to the Third Court |
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The Divan. To the left can be seen the entrance to the Imperial Harem. |
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The Gate of Felicity |
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On this spot was flown the Sancak-ı Şerif, or the Great Flag. It is attributed to be the flag of Mohammad and is currently stored at the Topkapi Palace treasury |
The kitchen complex was interesting. Consisting of a total of 10 domed buildings, the kitchens fed the staff of the Topkapi Palace, the guards, as well as performing a charitable service of feeding the poor. In the 16th Century A.D. up to 5,000 people worked at the Topkapi Palace; that number increased to 10,000 by the 17th Century A.D. To support this, a staff of 200 (in the 1460's) grew to almost 1300 by the 17th Century and continued at that level through the 18th Century.
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Kitchens and Quarters |
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Interior of one of the kitchens |
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One of the dome roofs, which functioned as a chimney |
Interestingly and per the law of Mehmet The Conqueror, the Sultan always ate alone. He was served by the Chief Pantler, who was in turn served by men charged with the Sultan's bread, the Sultan's drinking water, the Sultan's dining tray and spoon washer, the Sultan's trays, the Sultan's pickles, the Sultan's sherbet, the Sultan's hand washing water, the Sultan's towel holder, the Sultan's coffee, and the Sultan's sherbet (if you were wondering, there are Turkish terms for each).
The bureaucracy can grow over a 400-year span, can't it? Who was it that said, "It's good to be Sultan"? Nice job on the photos TB, an informative post.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - Like most rulers, once the Ottomans gained ultimate power, they quickly moved to ensure that no-one could challenge them by separating themselves out from the people that enabled the victory. Thus the bureaucracy to "manage things".
DeleteThanks for the kind words. It is easy to take good pictures when surrounded by such beauty.
A beautiful place built to celebrate a (for the defeated) a life changing event. Even today the look of war is upon it.
ReplyDelete"Peace be on to him" as my Muslim friends like to say.
Michael, it really was stunning. We had two hours or so there; one could have easily spent an entire day looking at everything. Definitely on the list for an all-day activity if I ever get back to that part of the world.
DeleteBeing the Sultan's spoon washer seems like a gravy kind of job.
ReplyDeleteEd, I think they all were. The amount of wrangling to get those positions was undoubtedly immense.
DeleteThe title in Turkish make it sound very official.
Fascinating variety of architecture. Obviously a popular tourist spot!
ReplyDeleteLeigh, partially due to destruction via fires and earthquakes, partially due to embellishing of the palace, there is a variety of periods of Ottoman architecture present. Also - somewhat fortunately for us - the Sultan's eventually relocated much of the time to palaces closer to the coast, thus in some sense preserving these from further renovation.
DeleteThe arches and domed ceilings are fascinating to study - imagining their tedious construction. From the marble arches that look like jigsaw puzzle pieces, to, what I imagine was cruder construction of the kitchen ceilings - they're all intricate and beautiful in their own way. Great pictures, TB.
ReplyDeleteBecki, I don't really think I appreciated Islamic architecture as I should have until now. Glad I can share the experience.
Delete