Today we toured Topkapi Palace, former home of the Ottoman sultans. Again, the palace was beautifully decorated with colorful tiles. I have to admit that I don’t know much about the Ottoman sultans so I was surprised to learn that this palace became a “gilded cage” for the male children. Why? Because the sultan ruled and he had various wives and the wife with the heir to the throne had a lot to gain because the queen was not his wife but rather the mother of the sultan. So, all these official wives (4-6) wanted their sons to be the heir to the throne so they could become queen. It sounded like a lot of little boys didn’t make it to adulthood. In fact, I think our guide said that the last sultan was actually one of 20 male heirs of the previous sultan and he was the only one who lived to adulthood.
Of course, the sultan had a harem, too. But how to be sure that the guards didn’t take what wasn’t theirs? Enslaved eunuchs! Wow. I guess it was a whole system of slavery and many slaves actually achieved success in administrative positions. Topkapi Palace was really a large, enclosed city. Many young girls were actually sent to the palace for an education that would then make them more eligible as brides or concubines.
Another really interesting thing at Topkapi Palace are the relics. We saw what are supposed to be the cloak and sword. Also, we saw other holy relics including the arm (encased in a gold “sleeve”) of one of the prophets. There was also a HUGE diamond. No one seems to know for sure where it came from. We saw the receiving room where the sultan met visiting guests and where these people presented their expensive gifts to him.
That’s all I can remember! I can’t remember all that the guide told us because we were walking and listening through our headphones and I couldn’t take good notes.
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