Istanbul is one of those impressive capitals I visited many times, but always while on the road and never for the city itself. Despite the fact that I’ve already been to some of the most iconic sites (even went on a family vacation to Antalya) – Turkey is still one of the countries on the top of my travel bucket list.
Of course, the famous Cappadocia and Pamukkale are included into my future route. But what about Alanya and Ankara? The old city of Myra and Lycian rock tombs? The charming region of Çeşme? The blue waters of Izmir? – I bet you’ve never heard of those places. Anyway, I’m not even sure I´d be able to fit them all in one trip. In the meantime, let me share with you some highlights from my visit to the impressive Ottoman heritage site – The Topkapi Palace.
Visiting Topkapi Palace
As always, it all started for me with a layover in Istanbul. So, instead of having a rest in my hotel room, after checking in – I immediately took a cab to the Topkapi Palace. I was on the rush, cause there were only 2.5 h till the site would get closed and my hotel was on the other side of the city (my airline did a great choice for me).
By the way, if you plan to visit Istanbul, consider using Uber (or Careem) there – not all of the regular taxi drivers would attempt to scam you, but unfortunately, it happens quite often…

About Topkapi Palace
Topkapi Palace is one of Istanbul´s most popular sites (In fact, it even beat the famous Hagia Sofia in terms of visitors back in 2013).
Topkapi served as the main residence to the Ottoman Sultanes till 1856. Therefore, Topkapi halls house impressive collections of weapons, porcelain, portraits, caftans and other relics, which belonged to the Ottoman dynasty.
You are not allowed to take pictures inside the exhibition halls. The Palace has 4 courtyards and Harem section (where sultan´s mother, women, children and eunuchs lived).

According to the Topkapi museum official website the literal meaning of the word harem in Arabic language is, “a holy place that everyone is not allowed to enter”. In Muslim societies, it is a notion which defines intimate family life. In Ottoman tradition, the word “Harem” was used in two different senses. First, “the sultan’s harem” i.e. his family, and the second meaning would have referred to the space where his family lived.



Prepare for your visit
I loved that they had audioguides and you could explore the place at your own pace. Here, I should add that I was quite familiar with the Ottoman history (mainly from documentaries) and I’ve also watched several episodes of Muhteşem Yüzyıl (very popular in Turkey historical fiction TV series). All this made me better understand the meaning of certain places, decorations and traditions…


Another thing I absolutely loved – tiles and ornaments: predominantly painted with blue, green, red and black colors, and featuring lots of tulips and pomegranates. Quite different from my favorite Spanish and Portuguese tiles. I still regret I didn’t take my camera with me: some phone photos of mine still don´t reflect the variety of colors, shapes and glows (even after going through the editing process). Hopefully, I´d be able to visit Topkapi again any time soon and make more picture of its stunning interiors.




After visiting the 4th Courtyard, you can take a moment enjoy an amazing view of Bosporus from the terrace.
Read more about my day in Istanbul here.
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This post is linked up with The Weekly Postcard and Feet Do Travel
These photos are gorgeous!
Chloe x
http://www.softoctobernight.com
Thank you, Chloe!
Your photos are stunning! Hope that you had an amazing trip!
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Thank you, Freja! The trip was great!
I’ve been to Istanbul, but unfortunately only for a day (such a shame) and I didn’t make it here! It looks absolutely incredible, I can’t believe I missed it! Thanks for all of the great information, I’ll be sure to go on my next visit.
Thanks Jessica! Istanbul has so many great places to see – you´d need a week to explore all the sites and areas 😉 I always feel like I had not enough time myself there!
ahhh this looks gorgeous! i feel like more and more places are on my radar, and i’m just daydreaming about alllll of them now (:
Same here! lol
Omg the photos are beautiful, I want to visit!
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Thank you, Katherine!
I have never been to Turkey but Istanbul is on the top of my bucket list, Anna! The Topkapi Palace is simply breathtaking. How long does it take to explore this palace?
It took me 1.5, but I was on the rush to visit more places that day! The exposition halls with all the porcelain, weapons, dresses were really crowded! I even didn’t stop to see some pieces, cause there was a huge line of people!
Wow! What an incredible place! Gorgeous photos!
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Thank you, Jessica!
Scamming taxi drivers are a plague now, really. I live at the other end of Europe from Turkey and I still get scammed from time to time. I don’t like uber either, I tend to use more of public transport – seems safer to me, especially in cities I don’t know well.
All the places you’ve taken pictures of (especially the imperial hall – omg, amazing!) look stunning. Ive never been to Turkey but I have to go soon, especially that I have a friend from over there who always says it’s one of the most amazing places in the world.
Dorota
http://www.fetchcandle.wordpress.com
Thank you so much, Dorota! Yes, unfortunately, scamming is really popular in between the taxi drivers nowadays!
Istanbul is amazing, especially If someone could show it to you!
The palace is absolutely stunning. Turkey is at the top of my bucket list and it seems like every time I see somebody’s gorgeous photos of the country it makes me want to go even more!
It really is a wonderful country – I do want to explore more of it myself 😉
I loved visiting Topkapi Palace, but it’s indeed a place that is always so crowded. #TheWeeklyPostcard
Thanks, And a! Always crowded, indeed!
Beautiful, so you took these photos on your phone? I visited Topkapi Palace but it was a long time ago. I am going to have to look into all those lesser known places in Turkey that you mention, I hadn’t heard of any of them. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Thanks for stopping by, Anisa! Yes – took everything with my phone, but did some editing after! I’m so obsessed with seeing those lesser known places in Turkey!
We visited Istanbul a couple of years ago and this palace is a gem. The harem is the best place to take photos… I also really enjoyed the jewel room, they even had samurai swords! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Yes, the jewel room really is SOMETHING!
Your photos are amazing! We’re looking at going to Istanbul soon so will definitely have to give this a visit.
Thanks, Michael!
The interior is especially beautiful. The throne room is so elegant!
Thanks, Sharon! The throne room is stunning!
Ohh I would love to visit Istanbul once. I’m planning to do it for so long time that’s crazy, always something comes up. The Topkapi Palace looks amazing, no wonder why so many tourists visit it.
I can relate to this lol – so many trips I’ve been planning for a while and then something would eventually come up!
Oh yes, I definitely need to see this! I really fell in love with that Ottoman style architecture while visiting Bulgaria. Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
I love the Ottoman ornaments myself, haven’t been to Bulgaria yet – would love to see the Ottoman heritage there as well!
My husband has been to Istanbul and has been raving about it for ages. Topkapi palace looks gorgeous! As an artist, I can stop staring at the details and the elaborate patterns. Gotta go soon!
Thanks for stopping by! I’m in love with all the details myself!
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Topkapi Palace. The ornately detailed interiors and Ottoman design are beautiful.
They really are! Really enjoyed my visit as well!
I haven’t been to Topkapi Palace but it does look lovely. You must be pleased you found this treasure, pinned for the future, thanks for sharing. #feetdotravel
Thanks, Angie! It was such a great place to visit indeed!
Looking through your photos of Topkapi brought back great memories of my time in Turkey years ago. Sites like this in Istanbul wowed me with their rich history and splendor. Your photos really do it justice! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Thanks David! Istanbul and Ottoman history also have impressed me so much when I visited!
I loved visiting Topkapi Palace. The Ottoman architecture, opulent interiors and the history are all fascinating. This brought back great memories.
The Ottoman architecture & history are so impressive!
Topkapi Palace looks stunning! We also had a layover in Istanbul but unfortunately it was an afternoon one so we didn’t get a chance to explore as much as we would have liked and many of the top sights were closed. Great photos and I really need to make it out to Istanbul and explore it properly next time.
It also happened to me many times – I’ve only had one proper layover from all the times I was flying vis Istanbul!