We used it to get most of the way, to Domabahce, a very European styled Palace right on the shores of the Bospherous! This was home to the last of the Sultans, six in all from 1856 when the building was complete, until 1922, when the Republic was founded. Having been to Topkapi Palace last week, we were interested to see how the more recent Sultans lived. We also
In spite of being early, there were already tour loads of people on site. We soon discovered that everyone had to join a guided tour, there was to be no free roaming around this place! There was also to be, NO photography indoors & to emphasise the seriousness of that request, there were armed guards! For the first time in this trip, NO ONE tried to disobey the RULE!!!!!!!
Opulent is the only appropriate word for the interior of the Administrative side of this Palace! Nauseating opulence! A great deal of effort was obviously made to appear European & appease European allies! Luscious silk curtains & upholstering, the most exquisite parquitry , furniture inlaid with mother of pearl, ceilings painted in Renaissance style, gold leaf covering the sculptural relief work, pillars, and most impressive of all...crystal chandelliers to blow your mind! I am so VERY sorry not to have photos to show of these to share!
Sadly, we were rushed through so rapidly, that we weren't able to get much more than a glimpse at the highlights. Although there were a huge number of paintings that we literally whizzed past, they became a blur! The Hamam for the Sultan was all carved marble, of outstanding workmanship, & with a view over the Bospherous...what a place to bathe! It is fair to say, that we walked around with our mouths hung open in awe!
The Harem, we expected, would be much the same..how wrong we were! Our guide there, began by acknowledging that in the old Palace of Topkapi, the Harem women were basicly imprisoned. Here, however, they were allowed to leave the premises.
During our tour we had been shown a room known as the recovery room. This was exclusively for the young princes recovering from Circumcision. The tradition here is that boys are circumcised between the ages of 6 to 8. A week prior to this operation they are dressed up in finery like young princes & then after the op, they become young men. We have seen boys in these outfits and...now we know what it is all about!
The grounds that wrap around the Palace are not large,(ie; there was nowhere for young Princes to kick a soccer ball) but full of rose bushes, and we saw at least three large fountains, but then, they did have a large aviary complete with peacocks, and running along the front facade was the beautiful Bospherous! Now, a well located cafe sits alongside, under large shady trees allowing we, the weary, to partake of refreshment in the grounds of another kind of life...before exitt'ing to the real world!
Our 'real world' plans were to find the Museum of Fine Arts, where I wanted to see if any of Melling's paintings of Istanbul were on display & I also wanted to find out more about the Istanbully artist Osman Hamdi Bey. The Museum was supposed to be right next door...however, it took a considerable amount of walking to get PAST the Palace property, & when we did...discovered the Museum, like many places here in Istanbul, is all wrapped up in a layer of scaffolding, being renovated!
Fortunately for us, we came across a new museum...dedicated to the art of coffee as partaken by the Sultans! It was all in Turkish, but there were sufficient pictures for us to work out what was going on. There was an extensive exhibition of Sultan's coffee cups and equipment, all very beautiful.( Lots of gold & crystal!) To top the visit off...we were given a free cup of Turkish coffee. For the first time, I actually enjoyed it! I think the secret is NOT to have sugar!!
From here we took the funicular up to Taksim square, looked at some very European influenced shops now housing brands like Body Shop & Colours of Benetton, we found the oldest remaining confectionery shop in Istanbul , where we bought Turkish Delight for our children, before joining a throng of locals at lunch in a 'point & serve' cafe. It was a long HOT walk back down to the Galata Bridge, which we walked across, amazed at the numbers fishing & just how many fish they were catching!
That evening we decided to follow through with the 'Sultan' theme and dine at Matbah, a rather pricey (for here) Ottomon cuisine restaurant. We started with a sherbert drink, made from pomegranite and some flower. This was the Sultans drink of choice, they did not (allegedly) drink alcohol. It was sweet, but delicious. Our starters consisted of; - a calamari ring stuffed with a blend of rice, pine nuts, almond, cinnamon and mint. A rather unusual blend, but tasty.- A dolmade, stuffed vine leaf with rice & sour cherries.-An icecream scoop of hummus, which is a blend of chickpeas, currants, lemon, cinnamon and pinenuts.-And eggplant, as we have had before, stuffed with tomatoe & onion.
My main dish, was described as a Melon, stuffed with minced meat, rice, herbs, almonds, currants and pistachios. My brain immediately interpreted that there had been a translation hiccup & surely the 'Melon' was in fact a 'Marrow'? I was wrong! There was nothing wrong with their translation into English. My meaty rice dish was stuffed into a cooked Honey dew melon! It tasted very different to anything I have tried before, and very delicious! It was quite an experience to be dining like Sultans...and first wife!
NOTE: Again, I apologise that photos arent in the order that I would want ie; refering to the paragraph that they illustrate. I will not bore you with the FRUSTRATION I am experiencing in actually producing these blogs...lets just say that the programme has a mind of its own!!
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