Two Turkish Delights…

Imagine a place where the “above-world” and the “under-world” meet.  What could this place look like?  We found one intersection of “above/underworld” in Istanbul…the Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern.

Topkapi Palace

This was the palace used by the sultans up until the 19^th century, and was the centre of political power in the Ottoman Empire.  It is a vast complex of building which had up to 5000 residents on a regular basis.  It was richly decorated with tiles on the walls, domed ceilings, and intricate gold-inlay screens.

Beautiful domed ceilings

The Sultan’s audience chamber

Richly decorated throughout.

We visited the Sultan’s Harem, which is where the Sultan’s over 470 concubines and children lived.

The Harem was beautifully decorated throughout, and I could imagine how luxurious it must have been with rich tapestries, cushions, and other furniture.

The Sultan’s visiting area.

Frescoes on the walls

Beautiful colours throughout

The doors to the Sultan’s bedroom

Beautiful tiled fireplace.

The Sultan’s bedroom

The Sultan bought young women or they were given to him as a gift.  The women who joined the Harem were not Muslim women as it was against the law to purchase a Muslim woman.  Once the women were brought to the Harem, they were given language and religious educated for 3 months at a school within the Harem’s walls, and then they converted to Islam.  The Sultan’s mother (the Queen Mother) was in charge of the Harem and she ran a tight ship.  She controlled which women were allowed to socialize with the Sultan, and had the power to imprison or execute any of the women not in her favour.

The first born son from any of the concubines became heir to the throne.  The woman who bore the son was raised in favour among the women in the harem, was given her own apartment, and received more privileges than the other women.

Girls born in the harem grew up and were educated in the harem.  The boys eventually left the harem at a young age and set on a path which included military training.

Among the interesting things we saw was a huge swimming pool, in addition to a well-built hospital.  The hospital was tended by Jewish doctors, who would also conduct caesarean sections in the event that any of the women in the harem had a difficult birth experience.  I found it an interesting fact that the Sultan employed non-Turkish doctors for these critical procedures.

The Sultan would ride his horse into the Harem along a decorated stone path, and be greeted by his concubines.  On special occasions or feast days, he would shower his concubines with gold, jewels and precious stones as he rode by.  At the end of the stone paths was a platform so that he could dismount his horse.

Cobblestone pathway throughout the building so the Sultan could ride his horse into the Harem.

Elegant patterns made with small pebbles.

The end of the line – where the Sultan would dismount his horse.

We also visited the treasury, which today houses various samples of Sultan clothing, as well as many of the precious treasures.  The “crown jewels” include the 4^th largest diamond in the world – the Spoonmaker’s Diamond; we saw gold candlesticks which were over 5 feet tall!  Katina did some window shopping, suggesting that she could use some of this at home!  Every step we took I felt my pocketbook getting lighter!  Unfortunately, we were not able to take many pictures (just the jewel-encrusted carpet below), but believe me when I say that it was quite a sight to see.  This reminded me of our visit to the Tower of London in August where we saw the British crown jewels.

The Basilica Cistern

This was really, REALLY cool!

Not far from the palace, the Basilica Cistern is an underground vault where fresh water was brought into the city via aqueducts.  Built in 532 AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinianus, the cistern can hold up to 27 million gallons of water.  It has 336 columns which hold up the 30 food high ceilings.  The cistern is about the size of 2 football fields, and was used for almost 1000 years before it was abandoned in 1453 AD after the Ottomans conquered Istanbul.

Eventually, it was only used to supply water to the Topaki palace gardens and some local homes.  The cistern was basically forgotten about until an engineer/historian heard some stories about some of the locals living near the cistern who were able to get fresh water by dropping a bucket through a hole in the floors of their homes.  Sometimes they would even bring up a fish!  The engineer spoke to different locals who directed him to a set of steps, and so he went below the city with a small boat and a torch to map out the cistern.

Rows of columns and lights…

…reflecting beautifully in the water.

Over the years there were several restorations done, but the most significant was in 1985 when the water level was lowered and tons of mud removed, and platforms added for tourists to walk through the cistern.  This final restoration revealed some amazing discoveries.

This column is green in colour and covered with tear-shaped engravings.  It is believed to pay homage to the slaves who died building the cistern.

This column is the colour of peacock feathers.

The tear-shaped carvings to remember the slaves who died building the cistern.

The two Medusa heads are believed to have come from the Greek Temple of Apollo near Ephesus, and are thought to have been brought to the cistern to protect it from evil.

Medusa head upside down.

The second Medusa head on its side.

Another interesting thing about the pillars in the cistern is that there is not just one style in use.  We saw Corinthian, Doric, and other massive pillars in use.  These pillars were brought to Istanbul from all over the Roman Empire and reused in the cistern.

Can you identify the Doric and Corinthian columns above?  I’ll share a hint with you that we learned from our friend Lydia when we met her in Berlin: “Doric columns are Dull, so they are the plain columns.  Corinthian columns are crazy, so they are the extremely ornate ones”.  I’m paraphrasing… 🙂

Istanbul certainly has a lot to offer…these were two “Turkish Delights” that we just had to share with all of our friends.