About Topkapi Palace Istanbul
Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi) was the residency of Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years after its construction in 1453. Its ornately gilded and marbled interior was the perfect setting for the dramas of the Ottoman Empire, and there appears to be a room for every event and every occasion - from a Circumcision Room to a cloakroom for Prophet Mohammed's cloak.
Although Topkapi grew and changed over the years it retained its basic four-courtyard approach. The first courtyard is the Court of the Janissaries, a kind of glorified army barracks where the elite soldiers of the sultanate mixed freely with merchants and tradespeople.
The Middle Gate (Ortakapi) led into the second court where the business of running the empire was conducted by the sultan and valide sultan (queen mother). Inside the court is a beautiful park-like setting with a series of pavilions, kitchens, barracks and kiosks that once served the daily needs of both the palace high-borns and hoi polloi. Of special interest is the Harem; the space that, contrary to lewd expectations of concubines and priapic emperors, was the equivalent of today's Royal Family living quarters. Every detail of Harem life was governed by tradition, obligation and ceremony, and the hundreds of rooms are lavishly furnished.
The Third Court, entered via the Gate of Felicity, also known as the Gate of the White Eunuchs, was (unsurprisingly) presided over by an elite corps of white eunuchs, personal aides and bodyguards to the sultan himself. The sultan had his private living quarters inside the Third Court. The Fourth Court was at the northeasternmost part of the complex and contains a restaurant, gardens, several kiosks and the Circumcision Room.
