NOVEMBRE 1957
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Palace of Istanbul
Topkapı Sarayında Harem yolu
L a G a le rie c o n d u is a n t a u H a r e m d a n s le P a i a i s de T o p k a p ı
The first P a la c e , built by Fatih afte r he conquered Istan b u l, w as found in the district o f B eyazid w here the U niversity is situated now . Fatih lived there for about 15 y e a rs ; then he ordered for a new p a la c e to be built in S a ra y Burnu. F a tih ’s n ew P alace w as com posed o f se p arate buildings and parks built on thou sands and thousands o f square meters la n d . The new p a la c e w a s surrounded by w a lls and tow ers on the sea side. There w ere seven e ntran ce, three in front and fo u r opening to the sea.
The main entrance w hich w as ca lle d «th e door of the kingdom » opened to Sultan Ahm et C enter. The first court o f fhe P alace a fte r the main entrance co n tain ed buildings o f M inistry o f Finance and «Enderun H o sp ita l» . The second g a te , ca lle d M iddle entran ce, w a s built with two tow ers on each side. Through this m iddle door o nly the Sultans could pass on horse b ack. O th e r statem en had to dismount the horses b e fo re they cross the e ntran ce. The court opened to the m iddle g ate w as an immense one and used fo r c e re monies. The fam ous h a ll w ith the cup ola w as built in this court. This h all w a s used for the cabin et m eetings, and fo r receiving the foreign A m b assad o rs by the ve zie rs. The third g a te w hich opened to the court of «End erun » the P a la c e S cho o l, w as used during the w a rs . The fla g used to be brought to the front o f the e ntran ce and the procession began and crossed the third gate.
The most interesting part o f the new P a la c e , among m any other quarters, w as the H arem . The S u ltan used to live with a huge number o f w om en. These Harem quarters w ere fam ous fo r the struggles, intrigues and murder am ong women because o f je a lo u sy. M an y re m arkab le la d y Sultans o f the O ttom an Em pire lived in these buildings, m any young princes and sultans w ere m urdered in the rooms o f H arem , such as Sultan Ib ra him, Selim the III. and M ustafa IV.
The Harem divided into quarters according to ra n k . The parts im m ediately a fte r the entrance w ere occupied by « K iz la r A g a s i» , A g a fo r G irls , and his negro eunuchs. These men w ere the g u ard ian s and w ere responsible fo r the ans' quarters and the H arem . A fte r the iron door cam e the m aids' rooms and then one a fte r an o ther, cam e the quarters o f the lad ie s o f the Harem .
The highest p lace and rank in H arem 's security there w as an iron door betw een the « G u a rd i-S u lta n » Q ueen M other then cam e the S u ltan , first lad ie s, f a vorites. First lad ie s u su ally numbered five or six and th ey used to ta ke p lace according the their p rio rity, such as first la d y , second la d y , and th ird, fourth and fifth . In case o f death each one jumped to a higher degree au to m a tic a lly. Each o f the five use to have se p a ra te quarters.
The apartm ents o f the Q ueen mother w ere two- storied, and consisted o f reception rooms, two b e d
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TOURING ET AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE TURQUIE
rooms and bath and an ad jo inin g p rayin g room to thebedroom .
Sovereigns used to have a bed-room , a bath and living quarters and a lib ra ry in H arem . The princes and unm arried princesses a lso , lived in the H arem . For the crow n princes' ap artm en t there used to be an iron door w hich w a s a lw a y s lo cked, and a crown prince w aite d behind th at iron door for their d a y to come to rule.
On the 19th century the w a y o f living for the crow n princes w ere com pletely ch a n g ed : they w ere left fre e , th at m eans they lived as they chose.
To p ka p i P a la c e is a good e xa m p le o f our old Turkish architecture, design, w o o d , china and m arble w o rk. S p e c ia lly Harem quarters a re unique.
The N e w P a la c e took the nam e T o p ka p i, in the 1 8th century.
The Old Palace
Fatih built his first p a la c e in 1 4 5 4 , in B eyazit at the p a la c e w h e re the U niversity is situated to d a y. A fte r the N e w P a la c e w as constructed, this old p a la c e had been reserved fo r the late S u lta n ’s mother, wives an d se rvan ts. A fte r the coronation o f the new so ver eig n, his mother used to move to the N e w P a la c e with a big cerem ony. The Sultans used to visit th eir p re decessors mothers and w ives during the h o lid ays and p aye d them their respects.
The old S a ra y w a s burned p a rtly in 16 1 7 but restored a g a in . W h e n . M ahmud II ordered the a b o lition o f the Ja n is s a rie s , the O ld P a la c e w a s assigned
to the new arm y and the w om en residing there w ere taken to the N ew P a la c e , T o p ka p i.
Dolmabahçe Palace
A t the p lace w here D o lm ab ah çe P a la c e is situated to d a y, there w e re tw o other buildings. Beşiktaş P a la c e and D olm abahçe castle . The sea in front o f the castle w as fille d in the times o f Ahm ed I and O sm an II. The D o lm abahçe P a la c e itse lf w a s constructed by Abdul- mecit, in 1854 and had cour five m illion in g o ld . A l though the P a la c e build according to the 19the cen tury architecture it also carrie s our ch a ra cte ristic d e signs here and there.
The fa c a d e o f D o lm abah çe S a ra y is tw o hundred eight fo ur meters. A w ing w hich is ca lle d Q ueen M o thers quarters w hich cuts the main building p erp en d ic u la rly is ninety fiv e meters. The reception, mother S u lta n ’s and the S u lta n ’s quarters contain tw o hundred rooms. There a re eight big h a lls and each c a rry a nam e, such as entrance h a ll, cerem ony h a ll, blue hall and Harem h a ll. The h alls h ave a co n sid e ra b le d i m ensions, fo r instance, six o f them are 4 3 , one o f them is 4 7 and the sm allest is 35 meters o f length. Some o f the rooms w ere nam ed a fte r th ey had becom e a scene fo r some historical events.
There a re seven w id e S ta irw ays with crystal b a nisters lead ing to the cerem ony h all on the second flo o r. The other stairs fo r service are about seven also . The first lift w a s in sta lle d w hen A ta tü rk w a s residing at the P a la c e and taken sud denly ill.
The D o lm abah çe S a ra y contains several g a te s, to be e xa ct, there are eight o f them alto g eth er. Two are
İstan b u l — B eylerbeyi Sarayı
NOVEMBRE 1957
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the main gates and others a re ca lle d Q ueen mothers, crown prince's gates, furniture door kitchen entran ce etc.
The out and inside decorations o f Dolm abahce P a la c e w ere c a re fu lly designed. A sort o f blueish m arble w a s used from M arm aris Isla n d for outer parts and lots o f c rysta l, w a te r m arble and fine w ood and others w e re the precious elem ents fo r inside w a lls o f the bu ild in g . The P a la c e w a s e xq u isite ly furnished
ac-cording to the 17 and 18 century french taste. The fam ous painting s w hich deco rate the rooms w ere co l lected by Sultan A z iz him self on his European tour. The ch a n d e lie rs, Bohem ian and silve r can dlesticks are also rare co llectio n s. The ch a n d e lie r w hich is hanging in the cerem ony h all w eig h s fo ur and the h a lf tons and contains seven hundred fifty bulbs, w as a present from Q ueen V icto ria , when the P a la c e w a s constructed.
M an y sovereigns lived and received fo reign r o y a l ties in D o lm abah çe S a ra y .
Four ye a rs a fte r the proclam ation o f the republic, A tatü rk cam e to Istanbul and resided the P a la c e . He a lso received fo reign kings, Sh ah s, and statem en in D o lm abah çe, w hen he w a s in Istan b u l. A t one o f his stays he w as taken ill and he died in the room num ber 7 1 .
Mualla ABUT
îstan b u ld a Ç ırağan Sarayının kapılarından
Une des portes d’entrée de l’ancien Palais de Çırağan
Kişisel Arşivlerde Istanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi