Sept 21 - Because I know its going to be a lot, I decided to only plan for Topkapi Palace today. We take a different route downtown, winding through some narrow avenues and dodging plenty of cars. This takes us around an old curved wall, and the Rüstem Paşa Fountain (962 AH, 1554 CE).
Topkapi Palace is not cheap, tickets for the three of us ran just over $50, and this did not include the harem building.
A bit about the palace. Of all the historic sites of Istanbul, it is one of the top two (the other being Hagia Sophia). It served for about 400 years as the residence and administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, once it was completed in 1478. This covered the reign of Sultan Mehmet to that of Sultan Abdulmecid. It holds a commanding position on the Golden Horn, a peninsula that juts out on the western corner where the Bosphorus meets the Sea of Marmara.
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As we advanced toward the main gate, a parade came through. I do not know what it was for, but we got some OK photos as it passed by.
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The viziership was an extremely important one during Ottoman times. The Grand Vizier was second in command only to the Sultan himself. Interestingly, from fairly early in the Ottoman system of government, the position of grand vizier was given to a person of non-Turk ethnicity (often Balkan, and often Christian slaves), who had proved themselves sufficiently educated and adept at governance. In the eyes of the Turks, this made it easier to execute a poorly performing grand vizier, since executing officials who were technically ‘foreigners’ was not frowned upon by other elites and the population in general. A ‘foreigner’ also had very little political capacity to gather forces and foment a coup.
Typically, meetings would be held amongst the top viziers, including the grand vizier, and the Sultan himself would never be present (though he had a covered window by which he could listen in on the discussion). The grand vizier would make decisions and decrees, but it was understood that if the sultan was in fact paying attention and didn’t like what he heard, he would send a messenger to intervene. Hence, it was always possible for the sultan to use back channels and undercut the grand vizier if he saw fit.
Foreign dignitaries wishing to visit the sultan would almost never see him, as the grand vizier was given the powers to make decisions with regard to foreign relations.
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We also stood in line for about 45 minutes to get into the Privy Chamber, which is now the Chamber of Sacred Relics. We didn’t take any photos in here, as the relics are of supreme religious importance and some people in line were according them great power, praying and touching the display case glass in reverence. Among the items were swords that supposedly belonged to members of the Prophet’s family, several vials with hairs from the beard of Muhammad, bones of St. John, and other rare objects.
Did get photos of some other interesting items, including:
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We spend most of the day in here without eating, so finally leave Topkapi grounds to find some food.
