Friday 11 January 2013

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~

18 comments:

  1. cantik2 gambar and pemandangan. lagi2 yg resto tuh.. masyaAllah.. bile laaa nk sampai ni?

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  2. hello dear! wow glad to know that u dah balik dr Istanbul..oh I miss Istanbul so much. maaflah dah lama I tak update my blog..Tengah mengumpul kerajinan to do so..

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    Replies
    1. Hi ernie.. I did email telling u that I've come back but u didn't reply. So, I just assumed ure bz with stuff. Yeah, anyway I am back n tq so much for all your help...

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  3. really? I can't recall if I ada baca or tidak..Sorry dear. But I'm happy to read all of your posts =)

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  4. Hii sis. Your posts kan very helpful. I'll be going to Istanbul jgk this 28th Jan. Fuhhh...xsabar dah ni. How's the weather yer time korg pergi haritu? Sejukkk sangat2 ke? Still boleh jalan2 x? Hehe..sorry. Byk tnye pulak.

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    1. Tq for reading... bestnya, nak ke sana..i'm sure u'll enjoy yrself there.. Masa kami p, weather dah start sejuk tp still bearable. about 13-3 degree celcius. ada satu hari ja, yg 3, yg lain dalam 10 mcm tu...as usual, mlm cpt..5.30 dah gelap dah... jalan2 ok ja, except for one day, masa i p miniaturk, ingatkan weather mcm hari2 sebelumnya, rupanya hari hujan dan suhu drop sehingga 3. i plak pakai sweater biasa aja n glove pon tinggal kat hotel (coz ingat cuaca biasa2 aja.) hambik kau, 3 degree, sejuk x tahan...

      kalu 28 jan, lagik sejuk tu..mid winter..

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  5. salam Farikica..masa nekcik pgi mmg sejuk sesangat..nekcik dok kat cafe je minum kopi..sementara tunggu depa masuk..

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    1. salam nekcik..itu gang suami saya tu... duduk dalam cafe, minum teh panass.. saya plak, mcm org gila kat luar, tangkap gambar sana-sini...ha..ha.. biarlah org nk kata apa...nekcik p bln baper?

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  6. Fuhh...cuak jgk ni. Takut x tahan sejuk je. Owh...korg pegi Miniaturk ek? Best ke? Mne lg korg pg? Hehe...xsabar nk tunggu ur next post. Klu u free, citer la tips and tricks kat sne. Boleh la apply time pegi sne nanti. Ooo...jgn lpe citer psl tmpt shopping skali. Byk org kate brg kt Grand Bazaar mahal. X best shopping kat sne. Yeke?

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    Replies
    1. i x belik apa sngt, memang grand bazaar mahal.. to me, it's too touristy.. bazaar kat bursa jaoh lebih murah...other parts of Turky nyer bazaar i x tau plak... souvenir kat miniaturk lebih murah dari di grand bazaar...huahhhh!!!! tp dah terbelik.... even kedai2 tepi jalan kat sultanahmet pon offer cheaper prices than GB. tp, iyelahkan, kat GB boleh dpt everything under one roof.

      sejuk memang sejuk tp blh ja jln2...make sure attire u cukup.. glove jngn lupa, nanti jadik i masa p miniaturk.... kesejukan sampai otak pon rasa nak beku...ha..ha..

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  7. ai...nak kena tengok citer narnia 2 balik la ni, baru ada feel, heheh...terracota? exhibitioin apa tu? sedih pulak sebab takda gambar kan...

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    Replies
    1. orga, bukn pokok yg sama...tp pokok yg seakan2 pokok dlm citer tu..he..he.. yg waktu bdk2 tu nak balik ke England semula tu... memang, rasa nak tangkp ja gmbr curik2 esp pedang rasulullah dn brng2 baginda yg lain...

      itula, terracota tu sumer diterbangkan dari china. dari xian la kot,... x la banyak mcm kat xian, tp merasalah tngk patong2 tu, he..he...:)

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  8. salam

    istanbul mmg seronok sangat pasal banyak tempat2 menarik utk kita explore
    kami masa tu kat tokapi palace tak teranjau semua pelusuknya yg besar sangat, kebetulan ramai pulak orang masa tu

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    Replies
    1. Mungkin waktu summer kot...time saya p ni, waktu winter, so kurang sikitlah org.. still ramai but bearable la...tp memang istanbul best kan?

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    2. he..he..sorry bapak, lupa plak jawab salamnya....w'salam...

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  9. u rs kalau pegi sendiri2 ok ke..i mean wt no travel agent. safe?

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    Replies
    1. No problem, Kak Yan... As far as i know, Istanbul is a very safe place to be. Lagipon, org2nya sangat suka tolong org cari jalan...Sini aman, bukan mcm yg di sempadan Syria tu..jaoh dari Istanbul...

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