A little note on Istanbul: Trails of civilization #4: Topkapi Palace

Looks like I have a loooong note on Istanbul, the city of wonders..
Or as I dubbed in the title, the city filled with trails of civilization :)..

After noting down and immortalizing the wonderful details of Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia , I can't wait to share this one..

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the Topkapi Palace...


one incredible corner of Topkapi Place...


Well, I hope I have warned you enough...that visiting Istanbul means endless woow, lotsa walks and  tons of pictures :D...

After getting close and personal with Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, let's get ourselves ready to visit the primary residence of several Sultans of the Ottoman period for hundreds of years...

In front of the Ahmed Library...inside of the Topkapi Palace complex...

Open quite early, at 9 am,  Topkapi Palace have different opening hours for summer and winter...in Summer, they close at 6 pm, while during winter, they close at 4 pm. Although they open at 9, don;t be surprised if the lining up is already loooong even at 8 am :D...So, better get there early...

With 25 TL or approximately 12.5 Euro, we can visit this lovely place. But that doesn't include Harem section (you have to buy a separate ticket for that..I forgot how much it was :D, I guess it was quite expensive..around 18TL per person) and the audio device (I guess it costs 10TL). 

Once you are inside, you will see that tt is actually a huge complex...well, covering an area of approximately of 700 hectares (see...it is hugeeee...), Udi and I was carefully planning our visit as we didn't really have that luxury of time.

The map of Topkapi...taken from our guide book...

According to our guide book and the brochure, there are 4 courtyards in Topkapi Palace...each courtyards has its own highlights, most-visited sites... Judging from the time we have, around 4 hours, we decided to see the Harem Section, Imperial treasury, Sacred Relics Section and everything we could cover on the surroundings :D...

It proved to be an ambitious plan :D..

Getting here and there, taking pictures at almost every corner and comforting Bo to stick around and enjoy the visit as well surely took our time :D...


Bo ...in one corner of the Harem section ;D...

Bo was not that enthusiastic before....but then he had so much fun with the audio device :D..

In fact, in the end... it took 3 visits in 2010, 2012, and 2013 for me to actually see the many areas and corners of the Topkapi Palace as well as taking more photos here...

And how we were amazed by the beauty of this Imperial residence...


Welcome to Topkapi palace...

We were walking quite far from the gate...well, it took around 15 minutes from Sultanahmet tram stop to walk past the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia to get to Topkapi Palace...actually, there is one more stop after Sultanahmet, but we wanted to see the Marmara sea :D...




Located in Sultanahmet complex at Eminonu, Istanbul, this incredible palace was built in 1460 - 1478 and has served as the home of several Ottoman Sultans, including the famous  Sultan Mehmed II. the conquerer of Byzantine Constantinopel who ordered the establishment of this Palace. Such a great location indeed...Facing the Sea of Marmara, I can imagine the grandeur of this complex in its heyday...



The Imperial Gate...
As you can see from the photo above, even the gate was so captivating...adorned with sacred verses in intricate calligraphy, the structure of the gate is strongly supported by marble stones.

Well, I guess I will have to come back for more stories in details...and more photos for sure :D...
Meanwhile, enjoy some 'teasers' from Topkapi Palace taken during our first visit :D..

Photos are taken by Udi, my hubby, and I :p...


Bo et Bapak Udi...taking a break for a while...
Bo at one of the pavilions...


It's just one of the many fountains you can find in Topkapi...look at the details...

We just loveee the ceramics....And Bo was happy with his audio :D..


More details from Topkapi Palace... 

The ceiling in one of the Pavilions...


More details are comiiiing...so please bear with me yaa ...

Photos are taken by Udi, my hubby, and I :p...

11 comments:

  1. Iyaaa maaak..dulunya istana solanya :D...ngga heran kalau bangunannya benar-benar megah...cantik dan penuh kaligrafi...ngg habis-habis kagumnya saya mak :D...makasih sudah mampir :D>..

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  2. Subhanallah... cantik banget bangunannya, terlebih lagi detail2nya. :)

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    1. bentul maaak...rasanya semua yang dilihat luar biasa bagusnyaaa....sampai sakit leherku maaak :D...karena heboh tengok kanan kiri, atas bawah hehehe...

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  3. wah kapan ya aku bisa keluar negeri :) hehe...

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    1. Ayooo mba susaaan...pasti nanti nyampe jugaaa hehehe....

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  4. Duuuh...
    sepertinya puas banget jalan jalannya yah mbaaa...
    Indahnya Subhanallah sekali deh bangunan2 itu :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kalau dipikir-pikir sih belum puas mak hehehehe...tapi benar-benar bersyukur bisa melihat semua keindahan ini...alhamdulillaaaah....

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  5. Ya Allah.. kalo ke sana pasti ga mau pulang sebelum diusir.... baguuuusssss.....

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    1. hahahaha...persiiiiis kejadiannya sama aku di visit kedua...ayik foto sana sini, ngg kerasa udah mau tutup..yang ada dijagain security, dikawal supaya keluar ke arah pintu yang beneeer hihii...

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