Topkapi Palace

Yesterday, since my class was cancelled, I decided to visit the Topkapi Palace on the European side. It was a beautiful sunny day which meant that I got sun burnt but it was nice to just be in a t-shirt and jeans. As I got off the ferry, I went the wrong way and ended up having to walk through the Spice Bazaar to get there. I tried going around but the new James Bond movie is getting filmed around there so it is all blocked off. Anyway, I went through a huge park thinking it was the way to the Palace. A man said “Merhaba (Hello)” to me and we proceeded to have a short conversation in mostly all Turkish. I was so proud of myself! He directed me in the right way. As I was walking, a huge group of boys in high school walked past me and they said Hi. When I said hi back, they all started yelling and clapping. I also got some high fives. It was funny.

I finally got to the Palace and was sweating like crazy. I waited in line to get my ticket but turns out, I didn’t need to get a ticket as I have this wonderful museum card so I got in for free! Score! I love the look on the employees’ faces when I show them my student card as they always think I am just a tourist. I got in and decided to buy an audio set so I would know exactly what I was looking at. The line wasn’t that long but it took forever to get to the front. The guy was super nice and friendly. After he explained how to use the audio set, he said to me, “Abigail, keep that smile on your face. It looks good on you”. It was really nice of him. He knew my name because I had to give him an ID card as a deposit.

So I walked around for several hours and it was really cool to see so many Ottoman Empire buildings, art and objects. There are four courtyards and several gardens as well. I decided to pay 15 Lira to go into the Harem which was the private area of the Sultan. It was really cool to stand and explore places that Sultans had lived during the Ottoman Empire. Even cooler because I have learned about several Sultans in my Ottoman Empire class!