The tour guide took us on a fast paced tour of the Dolmabahce palace. It.was so fast it would make your head spin! I’m not sure why they did this but we passed four huge cruise ships anchored in the harbor, on our way to the palace. Maybe they were expecting a very busy day.

This palace was built to rival Versailles and the other massive European palaces. It does this in a very garish way. To give you an example, the Grand Ceremonial Hall has the largest chandelier (four-and-a-half ton), room, and carpet in Europe. Can we say overcompensation? There is a huge center dome and balconies for the orchestra. High in the wall are windows for harem ladies to watch from above. It was built from 1843-1856, to prove they weren’t, “the sick man of Europe”. They borrowed heavily to build it and this of course, made them sicker! They were bankrupt within twenty-five years.

There is such a a big contrast between the Turkish style,Topkapi, and this very western, and garish style of the mid-1800’s.

This palace was fascinating in a couple of ways: The multi-faceted mirrors above the fireplaces are angled to provide more heat into the room, good thing, these are huge rooms. An even bigger surprise was that the Sultan’s apartment has a squat toilet!

As we were rushing through our visit I wondered if this palace also had a harem and sure enough, it does. Harem means protection and it is a separate section for the women. The most clever and beautiful girls are chosen. Often they were slaves purchased at an early age of nine or ten. They would be educated for seven years. The girls not chosen by the Sultan as a “partner” are married to other high officials. They were given dowries, jewelry, and a salary they could take with them.

Fun fact – All the clocks are stopped at 9:05, in memory of the death of Ataturk.

I’m including some sites from our scavenger hunt that started in Taksim Square. It was very quiet, no protests, and the road we walked down was filled with very nice shops and restaurants.