The Topkapi Palace Complex, Instanbul. Photo: BjørnChristianTørrissen.

– The palace is really a complex – a city within a city comprised of myriad low buildings connected by streets, passageways, and paths, with gardens, courtyards, and fountains in between. In its heyday, more than 4,000 people lived there.

– Topkapi not only served as the Sultan’s residence, it was the seat of the Ottoman government. Courtly behavior was regulated by a strict code of conduct, including the observation of total silence in the inner courtyards.

Apartments window. Photo: Serhinho

– Security was of top priority to the Ottomans, and the palace was designed with its own water supply, kitchens, stables, libraries, gardens, art galleries, bath houses, schools, and mosque. Residents rarely left the complex.

– The Imperial Harem, once home to the Sultan’s mother, wives, concubines, and other family members, has 400 rooms. The harem is actually a complex of its own, with each major group  having its own living quarters and courtyard. Few residents of the harem were allowed outside its doors.

– Ottoman Sultans lived at Topkapi from 1465 to 1856, when Sultan Abdul Mecid I moved the court from Topkapi to the newly built European-style Dolambache Palace.

– In 1924, Topkapi was transformed into a museum, which continues to hold collections of Muslim relics, decorative items, military weapons and armor, artwork, jewelry, textiles, and more.

What’s the most intriguing place you’ve ever visited? Please share.

See Topkapi, and much, much  more of Turkey on our Legendary Turkey and the Turquoise Coast tour, with four departures this fall.