Friday

One of the Harem Courts

I’m sitting on my bed and I am trying come to terms with what one can only describe as sensory historical overload.  When you visit a place like Istanbul you will come to see that history is not only a part of this great city.  History is the city.  They say that it is the cultural capital of Europe.   Maybe a few nations to the west might disagree but from what I have seen, Istanbul could give the title a fair shake.



The Offending Photograph

This morning we made our way to Topkapi Palace, the jewel in the crown of all that is Ottoman opulence.   I was awestruck by the scale of the structures, the ornate design of every decorative item even down to the mother of pearl inlays on almost every door and window frame.  The extensive number of design varieties used in each of the buildings was wonderful.  The palace, however, is more than this.  It is also a museum and we saw artefacts that date back to Old Testament times and many of Muhammed’s personal possessions are on display here.  Security is tight and I failed to see the sign outside one of the rooms that said ‘no photographs’ and snapped away at will, only to be told by a security guard (with typical Turkish politeness of course), “no pictures”.  Now the right thing to do would have been to delete it, right? He he he.



One of the many antiquities in the Muzesi Arkeloji



You pay an entry into the palace grounds and then another entry into the Harem.  This captured my imagination right from the start, and not for the reason you filthy people are thinking, but by the way this building is set out.  It appears to be a palace within a palace and I suspect that despite the prison-like feel within the walls, the harem women were well looked after.  In one room we entered, some Arabic singing began.  It was beautiful and set the tone wonderfully.  When we neared the end of the room we saw that it was being sung live.  I could have listened to it all day.  Two Italian teens were a little disrespectful as he sung and it was a funny sight to see their mum come in and tell them off.  I was waiting for her to give them a clip around the ears and disappointed that she didn’t.

After lunch, we visited the Muzesi Arkeloji (Archaeological Museum), a neo classical building which houses items that at the very least are 2000 years old.  Some are even dated to 1500BC.  It is a surreal experience as many of these artefacts are there for you to touch and when you see the date it was constructed, you feel as if you are a world away.  On our way there, there was much happening down at the palace gates.  Black cars and suited men with earpieces.  We saw an official party of men exit the palace and were told by the information man it ws the PM of Serbia.  Just another day in Sultanhamet Square.

A word or two about the Turks #1



From a balcony in Topkapi Palace overlooking the Bosphorus to
the Asian side of Istanbul.



They love black.  I tried to assimilate early so made every effort to wear black clothing everywhere I went.  It doesn't seem to matter because wherever I walk I get the same thing.  “Eksuse me sir, mey I ashk yew wun kweschun?”  Hawkers are everywhere and they can spot foreigners in a blink and they know the lingo.  Our Kiwi colleague even got a Kia Ora from one of these guys when he found out she was from NZ.  Needless to say, they fleeced her.