My Istanbul Winter Trip: Topkapi Palace

My next destination was Topkapi Palace @ Topkapi Sarayii. Very near to Sultanahmet, where i had stayed. Pricey entry tp masuk jugak. To enter, u need to pay 25TL (RM 45) excluding the Harem. To go inside the Harem, u need to pay another 15TL (RM27). For an audio guide, u need to add another 15TL (RM27) to your entrance fee.

Direction to Topkapi Palace: From Sultanahmet, stop at Gulhane (just the next stop after Sultanahmet). Do not go to the metro stop named Topkapi as it will lead you to a neighbourhood, bukan Topkapi Palace. So, remember, the stop is Gulhane, not Topkapi. 

This way to Topkapi Palace

U need to walk about 300m along this lovely lane in order to get to the tix counter n the entrance of the palace.
Bila berjalan kat sini, rasa aman, relax dan tenang aja...dngn udara yg nyaman dan redup...

Audio Guide for 15TL

Entrance Fee - 25TL

Merchandise shop, dekat je ngan tix counter.

Opening hours:
Open Wednesday - Monday from 9am- 7pm (Ticket sales end at 6pm). Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays.

Mengikut ceritanya, palace ni telah dibina pada tahun 1478 oleh Sultan Mehmet II. Palace ni memang sangat glamerlah waktu pemerintahan Ottoman Empire. From my reading, it was estimated that there were about 4000 people living nearby the palace's compound. Not only it housed residential buildings, there were also a university, mosque dan mcm2lah kat dalam tu.  But later on, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk converted the palace into a museum and became the UNESCO Wold Heritage Site.

Tempat ni sangat besar, 70 000 metre square feet kalu x silap. Spacious garden, pemandangan ke arah laut pon cantik. Architecture was magnificent. What else could I say?

Kat sinilah saya ada terjumpa dengan sekumpulan nyonya2 dari Penang. Mereka baru sampai satu group. Kat dalam ni ada mcm2...yg paling seronok, dapat tengok pedang dan cloak rasulullah, janggut beliau, tapak kaki and other belongings belonged to prophet's friends.

Inside the Harem lagikla x boleh tangkap gambar. The location is at the 2nd courtyard of the palace. alah, nk senang cerita, when u see many people queuing up to buy another tix, kat situlah tempatnya...he..he.. Unfortunately, u can't see all the rooms. There are only a few rooms open for public. U will see the royal bedrooms, bathrooms, concubines' rooms, etc.

Jom tengok apa ada dlm Topkapi Sarayii nih... Kami dapt tangkap gambar yg kat luar2 ja, pasal kat dalam memang x dibenarkan snap gambar, tu yg bosan tu...

Masjid kat dalam Topkapi Palace

Sekitar Topkapi Palace

Lovely architecture

various areas inside the palace.

Top: Info about circumcision room for the royalty. Bottom left: ablution tap,
bottom right: the tool for circumcision, i have no idea how they
used that thing to circumcise the boy. 

Alhamdulillah, hari ni x hujan. Cuaca sangat OK.

This tree reminds me of the movie, Narnia 2 where the kids
entered the tree in order to get back to civilization.

Cantiknyerrr...

Resto overlooking the Marmara Sea, So, romantic wooo...

Another sight inside Topkapi Palace.

When we were there, there was a terracotta exhibition  Kami pon x lepas peluang melihat patung2 terracota tu. Mcm2 bentuk dan gaya. Air muka mcm menakutkan pon ada... Memang mereka bawa khas dari China. Sayangnya, no photos are allowed inside the exhibition. So, melepasla tangkap gmbr dngn terracotta warriors. Terracotta horse pon ada tau... The exhibition will be there until February 2013.

Pintu masuk ke Pameran Terracotta. 

You can just walk to the museum once u're done with Topkapi.

I didn't go to the Archaeological Museum. X ingat kenapa..Perhaps, it was close on that day... x ingatlah... We decided to go to the Grand Bazaar, instead.

~To Be Continued~