The Harem, Istanbul

The Harem is situated in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. The Topkapi Palace was one of the residences of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years (1465-1865). The world harem in Arabic means "forbidden". To visit the Harem you have to pay an extra entrance fee, but it was certainly worth it.

The Harem had 400 rooms and in it lived the wives, slaves and concubines of the Sultan, also the children and servants and the only men allowed were black eunuchs. Once the women were in here they were not allowed out, there were up to 800 women imprisoned here.

As you can imagine you cannot visit all the rooms but some of the rooms you can see are the Sultan`s bedroom, the apartments of the Queen Mother and the courtyard of the Eunuchs. The place is full of amazing tiles, mosaics, fantastic furniture and doorways.

The Topkapi Palace is one of the big tourist sites in Istanbul and you really need at least half a day to take it all in.

Photo of the Week - Tanker!

Istanbul must be one of the busiest ports/harbours in world as we saw lots of boat, ships, ferries, tankers, cruise boats, private boats and many more. This one we saw as we were on a cruise going up the Bosporus and it looked so huge. This photo does not do it justice, as to someone not used to seeing huge shipping vessels it was very impressive sight.

Istanbul Buildings

Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque

Süleymaniye Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

The amount of buildings, museums, monuments, castles and palaces to visit in Istanbul is vast and if you are only there for a long weekend, your time is therefore limited the main and most famous of the sights.

We visited the Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, from our boat cruise we saw the Dolmabache Palace which would have been amazing to visit.

On our last day we visited another famous landmark the Topkapi Palace which was home to many sultans and their wives. I also visited the Harem which I will post some of the photos from there at a later date. I also went up the Galata tower and was rewarded with fabulous views of the city.

We did a lot of wondering around the streets and just being surprised by what we saw. We also wondered up to Taksim Square which for a long time was in the news with the protests. There were still many riot police hanging about as we walked up the main shopping street. We took a quick look around the square and left, just as well as about a hour later there was more protesting happening.

A brilliant and interesting city to visit and should be on everyone`s bucket list!

Photo of the Week - Bright, Colourful Door

This door is so bright and colourful it makes you want to live there! It is in Istanbul and I spotted it when we were trying to find a restaurant for dinner. There are so many amazing doors around everywhere and on instagram many people take lots of photos of doors. I just love instragram and recently have been going rather crazy on there.

Istanbul Postcards!

Near to the Blue Mosque

Yummy!

Anyone for tea!

Door through to Süleymaniye mosque

Happy Couple!

WTF!!!

Demonstration

Topkapi Palace

Guarding the Palace!

These are just random photos of the whole trip to Istanbul and are in the order of each day. We saw all the major sites and even encountered a demonstration on the 3rd day. It is hard to say what was the best part as everything was new and awe inspiring! The cruise on the Bosphorus was great, the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia were amazing. But sometimes it is the best when you see everyday life and the people of the city you are visiting.

Photo of the week - Panda time

Photo of the week comes from the amazing city of Istanbul which I visited at the end of May. While at the top of the Galata tower I saw this grumpy panda! By the way there were also other pretty magnificent views too!!

Istanbul Words

For the word series from Istanbul I have the usual plethora of photos which include street signs, cafes, shop signs, old writings and fast food places. Looking back at these photos brings back good memories of this short but interesting trip.

Hope you have all had a great weekend!