The Big Museum, Topkapi Palace

The Big Museum, Topkapi Palace, was built between 1466 and 1478 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. A place for visitors to get to know more insights of the lifestyle of the Sultans during the Ottoman Empire era.

The Big Museum, Topkapi Palace

Unfortunately, we missed out on taking photos of the front entrance of the palace, so the above photo shown above is the middle gate of salutation. By looking at the middle gate, it does felt like we are about to step into a castle.

A closer look at the middle gate entrance before entering the courtyard.

Whilst entering the gate, we were impressed by the beautifully crafted art piece on the ceiling whereby opulence can be greatly felt even though it was only the beginning of the tour.

The palace itself was really, really huge! Due to the fixed time constraints for this tour, we do not have the luxury to fully explore the ins and outs of the palace even if we wanted to.

Certain areas in the palace are prohibited from taking photos with tight security patrols patrolling around the vicinity, so we respect them by not taking any photos around, but to enjoy them with our very own eyes.

Fortunately, we were able to visit a few of the “must-see-when-visiting-topkapi-palace” which is “The Spoonmaker’s Diamond” and the “Topkapi Dagger”. Though there are 1 more area which we did not get the chance to see is the “Harem” area of Topkapi Palace due to our tight time constraints.

Harem of Topkapi Palace

Though we did not get the chance to take a look at one of the “Harem” area of topkapi palace, we still do have the general idea of what to expect if one have the opportunity to visit.

The word “Harem” means forbidden in Arabic. Though most (including us) will associate “harem” to be something erotic, but for this instance, it was the area only meant for the Sultan and his sons. That said, it was forbidden for all other males, except for the black eunuchs that was guarding around the vicinity.

For women on the other hand, they have the options to go in without any obstructions, though however, once they step foot into the “Harem” area, there will be no way out of it.

Topkapi Dagger

The Topkapi’s Dagger is and emerald studded curved dagger. The top handle of the dagger featured three large Columbian emeralds whereby the size is huge decorated by various different small diamonds.

Based on the tour guide’s explanation, it was said to be one of the valuable gifts carried by the embassy of Sultan Mahmud to Shah of Iran, to be gifted to Nadir Shah, which unfortunately not delivered as Nadir Shah was assassinated.

The Spoonmaker’s Diamond

The eye candy to all women out there, “The Spoonmaker’s Diamond”. An 86 carat, pear-shaped diamond, set in silver surrounded by 49 old-mine cut diamonds. It was said to be one of the world’s largest diamond ever found.

Unfortunately, our jaw dropped when we heard 86 carat diamond from the tour guide, we have forgotten about the continuation of the history he mentioned after that 🤣

Some Random shots around the palace

Our Takeaways?

Though our tour guide was great in explaining the history and the lifestyle of the Ottoman’s empire, we found that we do not have wiggle time to work with to be able to absorb the surroundings around the palace, read around some interesting explanation on certain parts of the area, capture some shots within the palace etc.

So for this takeaway, if you have the luxury to explore on your own without engaging on tour agencies, we would recommend take on at least a full day in your itinerary to visit this place.

More in depth information about the Topkapi Palace can be read here.

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