#tokapi palace

[dandysketches]

Tokapi Palace

[larslarssontoday]

Coffe with a view

Coffe with a view

After we visited the Haga Sophia museum we went to the Tokapi palace. The place it self is ok but not a most. So for us the best part was to find out that they have a cafe with a wonderful view over Bosphorus. On the other side we can see Asia and that’s where we will go to day.

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[mess-of-emptiness]

by Ella

[mikitakesphotos]

Yesterday at Tokapi Palace.

Istanbul, Turkey

[mikitakesphotos]

"as the shadows assume shapes I fight the slow retreat now my once-promise dwindling dwindling now lighting new cigarettes pouring more drinks it has been a beautiful fight still is." - Bukowski

[oupacademic]

Tokapi Palace, Turkey

This palace, begun by Mehmed II, the Ottoman sultan who conquered what had been Constantinople in 1453, comprises a series of four successive courtyards. Overlooking the Golden Horn on a site that was formerly occupied by the city’s acropolis, the Topkapi remained the seat of Ottoman government until 1856. Gardens surround much of the hilltop palace, and the courtyards themselves are also carefully planted. In particular the Fourth Courtyard, to which access was quite restricted, contains intricate kiosks dating from the early seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth century. From these one can look out over a series of terraced gardens featuring roses and tulips. The kiosks, many of them ornamented with colorful tiles, also provide views out over the water and the city beyond. It is easy to imagine how appealing they would have been on a hot summer afternoon or evening. 

Discover some of Europe and Asia’s most breath-taking garden palaces with our interactive map.

Image: “ The Revan Kiosk (Revanköskü) in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, in the fourth courtyard, as seen from the garden” by G.dallorto  via Wikimedia Commons.

[amandaandlach]

Monday, we caught the Tram to Sultanahmet and walked the cobblestones over to Tokapi Sarayi (Tokapi Palace). Tokapi was the court of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th-19th century. The palace grounds are huge and house many interesting buildings, including the harem (which is actually many rooms unto itself!) where you find these stunning tiled walls and three tiered water fountain which was designed to loudly trickle so to obscure the conversations of the Sultan so sneaks couldn’t eavesdrop on him. Many of the real treasures of Tokapi including the prophet Muhammad’s possessions (and beard fragments) have strict “no-photography” rules. So, sorry you’ll have to google those!

[rachelmcjackson]

Istanbul, Turkey, March 2013