Showing posts with label Topkapi Palace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Topkapi Palace. Show all posts

A little note on Istanbul: Trails of Civilization #Topkapi Palace - The Harem

Aren't you intrigued...
Sumpah saya penasaran...

Reading this writing on the wall...
Baca tulisan yang ada di dinding saat menyusuri kompleks Istana Topkapi di Istanbul...

The writing on the wall...
I can't help but wonder...
What's in there?

Beneran... setelah membaca dari berbagai sumber, tanya sana-sini, saya dan Udi, my hubby, langsung celingukan mencari tempat ini...

HAREM
THE HAREM

Situated on the north part of the second courtyard of Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, I certainly have tons of questions in my mind as I paid the extra ticket to get into this section...

What so special about it?

My guide book described how this place has attracted so many visitors just to hear the name :D...
Well, to my limited knowledge, the word Harem is originated from Arabic and it means forbidden...
So, are those living in this place 'forbidden'?
Hmmm...I have no answer to that...


Open the door and welcome....

But for sure, the establishment in this area is just amazingly beautiful...
Of course, we are talking about the Sultan's wives and concubines..The Harem..
I imagine drop dead gorgeous and beautiful ladies lived here for the Sultan's pleasures, under the command of Queen Mother!

Starting from the very first corridor as we stepped into, we have wowed by beauty of it... Well, to those who have read my previous postings on Topkapi (click here) or even Hagia Sofia (click here) and Blue Mosque (click here), might be bored with this 'wowed' thing..

one of the lounges...I really wanna sit here :)...
Long narrow hallways will welcome you, adorned with its blue-dominated flower ceramic tiles that has been galvanized as Turkish specialty. Rooms after rooms are there for you to see...and to imagine how it was in its heyday...



one of the hallways....

one of the rooms...

Again, lines of most beautiful women in Istanbul, or maybe even in Turkey, dressed in traditional costumes and smelled wonderful with bright smiles filled my imagination. 

I overheard a guide mentioning Roxelana, one of the legendary powerful women in the history of Ottoman empire, who started her days in the harem before becoming the legally wedded wife of Sultan Suleiman, the Magnificient and being the mother of 5 of Sultan's children, including his heir. Hmmm...I have to check for more juicy details for that :D...

The illustration in one of the rooms...kebayang para wanita cantik ituuu :D...

Kalau mendengar kata Harem, terus terang saja, saya langsung membayangkan deretan wanita-wanita cantik pilihan untuk menemani Sang Sultan. Don't ask me further, karena 'selir' alias 'wanita simpanan', yang notabene menjelaskan arti concubine, langsung terlintas :D. Tak heran kalau tempat ini memang cantiiik sekali..karena penghuni juga wanita pilihan. Dan pada masa itu, sah-sah saja Sultan memiliki begitu banyak 'teman' wanita yang memang bertugas untuk menyenangkan hatinya

Dan khusus di bagian ini, ruangan yang tersedia pun banyaaaak sekali...Kalau menurut buku petunjuk saya, ada sekitar 400 kamar khusus di bagian Harem, karena di setiap masa pemerintahan satu Sultan tertentu, kamar-kamar baru pun ditambahkan. Tidak heran kalau bangunan tambahan itu seperti memiliki gaya arsitektur yang berbeda.

beautiful windows....the detailed corrugated metal used are lovely
Satu hal yang pasti, keramik cantik khas Turki dengan motif bunga mendominasi berbagai ruangan indah di bagian khusus untuk para wanita pilihan Sultan ini. Sangat feminim, dan juga mewah! Pinggiran cat emas melengkapi cantiknya kamar-kamar yang tersedia di sini. Pokoknya seneng deeh liatnya :D...

the fireplace...not only the tiles, but the  metal craft is also amazing...
Not only the rooms with their amazing details, even the bathrooms and toilets are interesting to see :D...

the royal bathrooom :D....
a comfy stool for you, ladies :D...

I want one at home :D....




need to freshen up? here's the place :D...

That's just the toilets :D....
toilet jongkok :D...













Let alone the Sultan's couch...the one that you see above...

And the Courtyard of the Favorites :D....I like the name :)..apa ya rasanya jadi favoritnya Sultan #aduuuuh....
The courtyard of favorites...Like the name! imagining pretty ladies smiling, hoping the Sultan would pick her :D...



Dan seperti saat melihat bagian lain dari istana ini, rasanya memang tidak selesai-selesai rasa kagum ini...takjub dengan keindahan sekaligus sejarah kompleks ini...

Jangan bosen ya kalau Mama Bo et Obi masih berbagi cerita tentang Istanbul :D...

Cheers..

A little note on Istanbul: Trails of civilization #5: Topkapi Palace (photo gallery)

What do you have in mind when you hear the word Royal Residence?

Huge, beautiful palace? 





Intricately adorned pavilions?                 
Golden statues?






































Vast courtyard with fragrance orange trees and flowers?
Beautiful garden filled with roses? 
Giant chandeliers?

















Well, that's what I have in mind :D..
I guess you will see them all in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul..
After some warming up here, I still have some more to share...






So….Let’s explore more of this amazing place, shall we…
And tell me what you see....

These are some of the pictures that my hubby, Bo and I captured...
Hopefully you enjoy them as much as we do...















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...