Istanbul Tour Day Installment #3

TOKAPI PALACE

Above is the entrance to the Tokapi Palace. In its hay day, 10,000 people lived within the walls. The grounds were used as the local bazaar before the Grand Bazaar was built. There was also water available on the grounds. The sultan owned all the water. So, he gave it back to the community through the wells here and elsewhere around the city.

Part of the interior grounds complete with mounted security.
The following photos show some of the interior of the palace.

The harem was secluded from the rest of the palace. Only the women of the harem, the Sultan, and the eunuchs who served the harem were allowed in this area. Our guide described the harem as a training ground for the most beautiful girls in the city and those slaves who had been taken during the wars. They were trained much like ancient Geisha; dance, conversation, music, embroidery, etc. The sultan had first choice as his personal concubines. But many were given to governors of outlying areas for wives.

As can be seen from these photos, there were no windows to the outside world from the harem. However, it was well lit with sky lights and the women there had access to a swimming pool and many other amenities that were not common to other people at the time.

The harem courtyard.

Sky lights.

Interior.

In front of a 600 year old tree. Here I might add that the day was so hot that my mascara melted and my eye lashes stuck together.

Jon and I on the sultan's patio overlooking Asia across the Bosporus.

The treasury in the palace has examples of the most extraordinary jewels collected by the sultans over the years. Probably the most impressive was the 65 carat diamond.

BASILICA CISTERN

In 1989 the owner of a property just two blocks from the Hippodrome decided to renovate his building. When construction started, they found the Basilica Cistern. Built in the sixth century, it is about 450 feet by 200 feet with 336 marble columns of Ionic, Corinthian and Doric construction. . .except for two.

Both heads are of Minerva, one on the side and one on the top of her head. The best the archeologists can come up with is that they were two columns shy of a load and added these two edifices of Minerva to get the correct height to hold up the top of the cistern.

This is the best photo we got in the low light levels. However, imagine a dimly lit space a football field and a half by a football field and a half wide, with huge columns raising from the water in the floor (only a few inches now, but capable of huge quantities to sustain the population) and the dripping from the water seeping in from above. Pretty amazing.