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Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts

Friday, 24 July 2015

Topkapi Palace: The Living History and Luxury



Topkapi Palace is the palace where was used as the headquarters of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years out of 600 years, and where sultans had lived. Over 4000 thousand people lived in it. Then the priorities changed and the sultans moved to Dolmabahce Palace and Yildiz Palace.

Topkapi Palace covers a large area that has a great view of the Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn. The area which the palace is spread, Sarayburnu, used to be the Byzantian acropolis. The mosaics from the Great Palace of Byzantium is exhibited at the Museum of Great Palace Mosaics. From the palace, you can also see some of the city walls.


History


Topkapi Palace was made built by Sultan Mehmed II in 1478. It was originally 700.000 m2 in total. (Today it is 80.000 m2.) The palace was opened to visit as a museum at the reign of Abdulmecit. It was opened to public in October 9th, 1924 by the decision of Ataturk. It is one of the most important buildings in the Historical Peninsula, which is a part of UNESCO World Heritage List.


Sections


You enter the palace from the Imperial Gate. There are different doors opening to different buildings. There are four yards in total. At the first yard, there is the area where the regiment used to gather.

The buildings around the palace are: Otluk Gate, Balikhane Gate, Haseki Bath, Regiment Kiosk, Zeynep Sultan Mosque, Sogukcesme Gate, Hagia Sophia, Ahmet III Fountain, Ahirkapi Lighthouse, Pearly Kiosk, Wooden Gate, Main Garden, Sevkiye Kiosk, Ministers Gate, old boat houses, Sepetciler Mansion, Yali Kiosk, Iron Gate, Yalikosku Gate, New Mint, Mint Kiosk, Gulhane Kiosk, the Column of Goths, Tiled Kiosk, Revan Kiosk, Baghdad Kiosk, Kiosk of Osman III, Sofa Kiosk, Lala Garden.



The buildings inside the palace are: the Imperial Gate, the kitchen wing, the Imperial Building, Submission Chamber, Fatih Kiosk, Hekimbasi Chamber, Agalar Mosque, Internal Treasure, Raht Treasure, Main Barn, Kubbealti (under the dome), the Library of Ahmed III, Circumcision Resting Room, and the Kiosk of Murad III. (Kiosks make you sigh and dream how it would be to live at any of those.)

Harem part is inside the palace; however, you have to buy an additional ticket. It is a little bit expensive, compared to the whole palace, but it is worth to see where the odalisques used to live.


Sacred Relics Chamber


This section is very important for the Islamic world. Sultans used to visit it on every Ramadan. (I also visited it at Ramadan, following the tradition.) The relics were brought from different Islamic states to Istanbul, after Sultan Selim's conquest of Egypt in 1517.

The relics that are being exhibited in the chamber are: the mantle of Muhammed, the golden chest where the mantle is kept, the foot print of Muhammed, hairs from the beard of Muhammed, part of Muhammed's tooth, soil from the grave of Muhammed, the seal of Muhammed, the sandals of Muhammed, the handle of His sword, His swords, arch and bow, the swords of Davud, Ibrahim, Yusuf, Ali, Ebu Bekir, locks and keys from Kaaba, a door from Kaaba, the container of the Black Stone, the mantle of Fatma...

Normally, taking photos is strictly forbidden, but everybody tries to take a secret shot.

Spoonmaker's Diamond


This is one of the most famous 22 diamonds in the world. It is 86 carat, and it is decorated with 49 diamonds. It is exhibited at one of the Treasure Chambers. The origin of its name isn't for sure, but the most logical explanation that its shape looks like a spoon. How the diamond reached to Topkapi Palace is also a rumour. Some people say it was bought from Napoleon's mothers, whereas some others say that it was found by a spoon seller who didn't know the real value of the diamond. The museum also holds this story.

It is also forbidden to take photos of the diamond and other treasures, but taking secret photos of the diamond is much more harder. It is like the Mona Lisa of the Topkapi Palace, so it is very well protected.

Where is Topkapi Palace?


Topkapi Palace is almost next to Istanbul Archaelogical Museums, and Gulhane Park. So, you can reach there like you reach those places. The Kabatas-Bagcilar tram has both Gulhane and Sultanahmet stops. Either ways, you'll have to walk a couple of minutes. You can look around the old city, while you're walking.

Istanbul Archaelogical Museums

Istanbul Archaelogy Museums are three buildings that are all in one place, but have properties of their own: Main Building, Old Eastern Works Museum, and Tiled Kiosk Museum. First two have ancient works, the other one dates back to the Conquest of Istanbul.

This is one of my favourite museums in Istanbul. You can find hundreds of works from Ancient Greek, Roman Empire, Byzantium, and also from the ancient civilizations of the Middle East. You can also follow the history of Istanbul-Constantinople. Don't forget to walk around the yard, where there are many artefacts exhibited at open air.

Main Building

History


Actually, historical works were being traced since Sultan Mehmet II. However, systematical museology started in 1869, when the Ottoman Empire Museum was founded. All the works that had been collected at Hagia Irene Church formed the formation of that museum. The museum is reopened in 1872, and the Tiled Kiosk, which stayed idle for centuries is opened in 1880.

Famous painter Osman Hamdi Bey made a breakthrough in 1881, after he became the museum director. He gathered works from all around Turkey (like Nemrut Mountain and ancient cities, such as Myrina, Kyme) in the museum. He made some works like the Tomb of Alexandre be returned to Istanbul.

Tiled Kiosk

A floor that is all about Istanbul


If you are particularly interested in Istanbul, the Main Building will serve you more than an archaelogical museum. The second floor of the building is all about the history of Istanbul. The finding are exhibited in a very organized manner. As an Istanbulite, I even got surprised to see and read some things about my hometown, and this visit will probably guide me to the future blog posts I'll write.


Where are Istanbul Archaelogical Museums?


It is very easy to get to the museums. The museum is very close to Gulhane Park. You have three options: You can either come directly with tram to the Gulhane stop, come downwards from Sultanahmet, or walk upwards from Sirkeci.

Warning: As June 2015, the Main Building is under construction. Some parts and some works, such as the tomb of Alexandre unfortunately cannot be seen.

A statue from the yard

Saturday, 27 June 2015

Kabatas: Gate to the Anatolian Coast


Kabatas means "rough stone" in Turkish. The neighbourhood supposedly took its name from a big rock, but today it isn't certain where the rock is or what it looks like.

Kabatas is between Findikli and Dolmabahce. It is a rather small neighbourhood, but its importance lies in the transportation. Kabatas is like a connection point.

It is on the opposite of Uskudar. So, many people who live at the Anatolian coast prefer to go to Kabatas and then get on other transportation means.


How to get in and out


Kabatas has a port. This means you can come from and go to the Anatolian coast. There are ferries and sea buses to Uskudar, Kadikoy, Bostanci and Prince Islands.

There is also a small bus terminal here. You can find buses to Sariyer, Bahcekoy, and many more.
Kabatas is the first and the terminal stop of Kabatas-Bagcilar tram that also passes from Sultanahmet.

It is very easy to come to Kabatas. You can even walk from Taksim or Besiktas.



What to do in Kabatas


Kabatas is very close to Dolmabahce, so if you come to Kabatas, you can walk for a couple of minutes and visit Dolmabahce Palace.

It is also close to Kucukciftlik Park, where many open air concerts take place.

Sunday, 14 June 2015

Galata Mevlevihanesi: Come, come whoever you are


"Come, come whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come." Rumi

Galata Mevlevihanesi, or Kulekapi Mevlevihanesi, is an old Mawlawi house at Beyoglu. Today it is a nice museum, except on Mondays. You can watch whirling dervishes on weekends, but you'll have to buy additional tickets for the shows.

How to go there?


I wanted to visit the place for a long time, but it had a long restoration period. It is very easy to get there. You can either walk down from the Tunnel or walk up from Karakoy. It is very close to Galata Tower and your visit won't take more than an hour (if you don't fall in love with the beautiful yard with cats), so you can easily make a plan covering both places.



What is Mawlawiyah?


Mawlawiyah is religious order in Islam and it is closely related to Sufism. The order takes its name from Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi. (West knows him as Rumi, East usually calls him Mevlana. Actually Rumi is correct, because it is his name. Mevlana is his religious title.) Mawlawiyah was institutionalised by his son, Sultan Veled.

History


The building has a long story. Let's make a summary of it. It was built in 1491 by Iskender Pasha. It was then the first Mawlawi house in the city. Between the middle of 1500's and the beginning of 1600, it was used as a traditional social complex. With the law that forbids religious orders and their buildings, the complex was shut down on 25 October 1925. Later it was turned into a museum. On 27 December 1975, it was opened as Divan Literature Museum. In 2007, a new restoration period started and the museum reopened in 2011.


The Main Building

The Building Complex


You'll enter the complex from a beautiful arched door. The library is just on the right, but you are not allowed to enter it. After a couple steps, you'll see Hasan Aga Fountain. On the left is the tomb of famous Divan poet Sheikh Galib. There is a cistern adjascent to it. There are also other little tombs, of which gravestones will give you an idea of traditional Islamic-Ottoman style.

The spacious yard is lovely with trees, benches and cats. On the far end of the yard is situated the big Adile Sultan fountain. (Adile Sultan is the daughter of Sultan Mahmud II, the sister of Sultan Abdulmecid, and is a Divan poet.)

Adile Sultan Fountain

The main building is wooden and plain, as it is advised in Mawlawiyah. (Of course, it isn't the original one anymore.) The museum is on the first floor of the main building. Every information has luckily an English translation. The semah saloon is on the second floor. If it is empty, you can climb the stairs and take a look at it. Its floor is plain, but its ceiling is impressing.

Some details about the first floor: The museum is organised so that you can learn about the lives and the belief of Mawlawis. Among the displayed things are kitchen utensils, musical instruments, artworks, and old Masnavi's, the masterpiece of Rumi.

The museum is open for everyone (as Rumi said), the wanderers, the tourists, the backpackers, the corious, the spiritualist and all the rest. Make it a part of your plan!

Mawlawi - Sufi Music

Friday, 1 May 2015

Istanbul Military Museum: Big, Detailed Museum with a Lovely Yard



Istanbul Military Museum is a big museum at Harbiye. It has a lovely yard with cats and flowers. We even saw two green wild parrot on a tree. We hadn't been inside the museum before. We decided just to take a look at it and after 3-4 hours we had walked our feed off. So, we advise you to take your time and to leave your baggage somewhere if you can.

The museum covers an area of 54.000 m2 and the museum building is 18.600 m2. It was build in 1862 for the purpose of education officers for the army. Abdulhamit II had it built. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a student of this school for some time, you can visit his figurative class inside. The building was used as a school until 1936, and as corps headquarters until 1964.

In 1964, the decision was made to turn it into a museum. Its restoration was started in 1966 and was finished in 1991. Many spatial and functional changes were made. These changes made the building somehow different both inside and outside than the older building that was used as a military school. I don't know what it looked like before, but it looks fine now.

The building was originally Aya Irini Church, and  when Fatih conquered "Constantinople", he turned it into armoury. The remains, some of which were ancient, were protected. So it can be said that first museum activities started then. The artifacts were carried to Nigde on the account of World War II. Then it was brought back to Macka Armoury, which now belongs to Istanbul Technical University. Today they are in Cinili Kosk, inside Istanbul Archaelogical Museum complex.

Inside the Museum




First of all (and normally) it is a very patriotic museum. The first floor begins with ancient Turkish history: Huns (who I equate with Vikings in terms of the active pnosition of women in migrant settler society), Gokturks (with an interesting alphabet) and Uyghurs (whose grand-grandchildren are still living in China). You can observe the migratory roots. There is a statue of Attila the Hun.

Then comes the Seljuks. I like their art. They are in between Turkish Shamanism and Islam. Normally, Islam forbids paintings and statues. But the Seljuks were in a transition period. Their art includes lion statues, story depictions etc. There are many traces of Seljuks around Turkey. You can watch the slide on the screen and see their pictures. Unfortunately you won't see Istanbul among those, because they couldn't make it to Istanbul at that time.



There are many things about the Ottomans, and there should be considering the period of time they reigned (1299-1922). You'll see things about the conquest of Istanbul. The steps and the wars that lead to Turkish republic are also exhibited in various rooms. You can visit the figurative class of Ataturk. You can see him discuss with his friends during The War of Independence.

The museum is also rich of statues and artifacts, such as men on horses, study tables, an old car (that witnessed and assassination of one of its passengers), and on the second floor guns and arms of every kind. For your information: Everyday at 15.00-16.00, you can watch the jannissary band perform.

Outside the Museum




The yard of the Istanbul Military Museum is very pleasant. There are trees and flowers. There are artifacts such as a real military helicopter and a real big cannon. Cats wander around and most of them are very friendly. One of them was so friendly that it accomponied us until we went into the museum building.

The museum today is a building complex with some newer additional buildings, but the yellow building you'll see is only newer than the museum building. It has actually Ottoman tughra and inscriptions on it. After you exit the complex, walk towards Nisantasi and visit Sanatcilar Park, which is a minute walk away. There you'll find the most comfortable cats, kittens and dogs of Istanbul.
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