The official residence of the Ottoman sultans for more than 400 years, the magnificent Topkapı Palace was built by Mehmet II between 1459 and 1465, shortly after his conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul). It was not conceived as a single building, but rather as a series of pavilions contained by four enormous courtyards, a stone version of the tented encampments from which the nomadic Ottomans had emerged. Initially, Topkapı served as the seat of government and contained a school in which civil servants and soldiers were trained. However, the government was moved to the Sublime Porte in Istanbul in the 16th century. Sultan Abdul Mecid I left Topkapı in 1853 in favor of Dolmabahce Palace. In 1924, two years after the sultanate was abolished, the palace was opened to the public as a museum.
LIFE IN THE HAREM
The word “harem” derives from the Arabic for “forbidden.” It was the residence of the sultan’s wives, concubines, children, and mother (the most powerful woman), who were guarded by black slave eunuchs. The sultan and his sons were the only other men allowed into the harem. The concubines were slaves, gathered from the farthest corners of the Ottoman empire and beyond. Their goal was to become a favorite of the sultan and bear him a son. Competition was stiff, for at its height a harem had more than 1,000 women. Topkapı’s harem was laid out by Murat III in the 16th century. The last women left in 1909.
On display throughout the palace are thte glittering treasures amassed by the Ottoman sultans during their 470-year reign. In addition to diplomatic gifts and items commissioned from palace craftsmen, many objects were booty brought back from military campaigns. The kitchens contain cauldrons and utensils used to prepare food for the 12,000 residents, and Chinese porcelain carried along the Silk Route. The Treasury holds thousands of precious and semiprecious stones: highlights include the bejeweled Topkapı dagger (1741), and the 86-carat Spoonmaker’s diamond. In the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle are some of the holiest relics of Islam, such as the mantle once worn by the Prophet Mohammed.