The
Sultan's view
Istanbul's royal
complex
Golden gateway ... The
entranceway into Topkapi's Second Court.
|
ISTANBUL,
Turkey -- On a sunny spring day, a scruff of crows quarrelled in the
top branches of a spearhead-shaped tree. Light drew lacy patterns
through branches still bare, as purple and orange pansies spilled
from marble planters in the Second Court of Istanbul's Topkapi
Palace.
The royal complex covers hectares of hillside
at the point where the Golden Horn runs into the Bosphorus near the
Sea of Marmara.
Behind us, as we stepped through the
twin-coloured gate into the Court of Janissaries, Aya Sofya's towers
pointed to sky as blue as the good luck charms for sale on the
street. Circling the 6th- century mosque, we had found ourselves
outside Topkapi's high walls.
In 1453, when the
Ottomans finally took what was left of the Byzantine Empire, Mehmet
II picked this site near Aya Sofya for his new palace. And in a
burst of architectural awe, he converted the 1,000-year-old domed
church into a mosque.
For 300 years, direction of the
extensive Ottoman Empire came from Topkapi. The palace -- a series
of pavilions, kitchens, barracks, audience chambers and sleeping
quarters arranged around courtyards -- has been a museum since
19th-century Turkish rulers built new residences on the Bosphorus.
For 2,000 years before the Turkish conquest, Byzantium
absorbed diverse cultures and amassed wealth. Christian crusaders
looted at the least excuse, tarrying for years on the way to
Jerusalem. During their own centuries in Asia Minor and Thrace,
Selcuk and Ottoman Turks nibbled Byzantine boundaries into an
ever-smaller enclave.
Though Topkapi's location was
surely chosen for the view, the world was soon shut out. Perspective
turned inward, spawning a social climate where concubines clawed to
secure the throne for their sons. To the strongest, or most devious,
went the prize.
In the Court of the Janissaries,
beyond small Aya Irini, we noted the sign pointing downhill to the
Archaeological Museum for later reference. For three centuries, the
sultan's guards gathered here for meals.
'Janissary'
meant 'new levies'; soldiers were 'owned' by the sultan. Usually
recruited as 10-year-olds from Christian families in the Balkans,
boys learned Turkish and Islam, swore to obey the sultan. In 1826,
Mahmut II provoked a revolt of the Janissaries, then had his army
kill them all, ending 350 years of an army that had grown corrupt
and dangerous.
We bought tickets to enter the Second
Court and passed the fountain said to be where the imperial
executioner rinsed his tools after decapitating unfortunates who
displeased the sultan.
Trees, shrubs and flowers
softened buildings and walks; domed brick buildings on the right
were kitchens, which today display porcelain from China, Japan and
Europe, as well as Ottoman glassware.
Lavish gold grille-work
near Topkapi's harem.
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Across the
courtyard gleamed the gold-trimmed Kubbealti (The Dome), where the
Grand Vizier met with the Imperial Divan (council). The
oriental-style room furnished with rugs and sofas looked like a
stage set.
Around the corner, a quiet crowd waited for
the next harem tour. There's another ticket for that. Open from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. for groups, it's wise to get tickets, look at other
courts and return at your tour time.
The brass-studded
harem door squealed open. Warmth ceased when the door shut behind us
and we walked past the quarters of the black eunuch, who ran the
harem.
Rich fabrics, coloured tiles, wood inlays and
silk cushions adorned the succession of dressing rooms, private
baths and living quarters. Reception areas are burnished with gold
leaf and blue and red tile work.
Groups exit the harem
into the Third Court, which was the sultan's private domain, where
new rulers accepted oaths of allegiance.
The Third
Court was jealously guarded by white eunuchs. When a foreign
ambassador came to the sultan's Audience Chamber, a white eunuch
held at each arm. Seated on cushions embroidered with 15,000 seed
pearls, the sultan regally inspected gifts.
The
library of Ahmet III (1718) now holds extravagant imperial robes,
kaftans and uniforms, most studded with gems worked with silver and
gold thread. Display cases in the Imperial Treasury cradle rubies,
emeralds, jade, pearls and diamonds. There's even a solid gold
throne presented by Persia to Mahmud I (1730-54). But you must see
the 86-karat Spoonmaker's Diamond surrounded by dozens of smaller
stones, and the uncut 3.26- kg emerald to believe them.
In the gardens, balconies overlook the Bosphorus' ship
traffic. Beneath mossy trees, water dripped from gold spigots set in
blue-tiled walls, splashed in marble fountains.
Across
a shallow reflecting pool, Istanbul's hills rambled to the horizon.
Atop one of them sprawled splendid Suleymanye Mosque (1550-57).
The Mecidiye kiosk is now entrance to the Konyali
restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus. Since tour groups fill it at
lunchtime, you might plan to arrive before or after noon.
Topkapi is one of those eternally new places; you see
different things each time you come. The treasury of precious gems
and metals, golden sunshine on blue water and tranquil gardens all
belie the complexity of life that existed here long ago.
GETTING THERE: Turkish Air Lines flies from
Chicago and New York. For information on fares, call Sultan Travel
at 503-3030 or Air Tour Canada at 661-7880.
MORE INFO: Turkish Information Office.
www.summer
holiday.info
www.winter holiday.us 
