We started our day in Topkapı Palace which was the official and primary residence in the city for the Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to 1853. Initial construction started in 1459 when ordered by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Byzantine Constantinople. The palace is made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings which was the home to as many as 4,000 people. At the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Topkapı Palace was transformed by government decree into a museum. The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture with collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, and a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry. Topkapı Palace receives more than 10,000 daily visitors.
The Turks originated from an area between Mongolia and China and were referred to as Nomadic warrior tribes. At that time everyone was a solider, including women, and China built the Great Wall to defend against the Turks. When a Turkish army went to war, you could hear them coming ten days before they arrived. A messenger would often be sent in order to give the city a chance to surrender and become part of the empire. If resistance occurs, there is an invasion of the city and women and children would be raped, cut, and everything would be stolen. This would go on for three days and it would still result in Turkish territory. This ruthless takeover is when the Turks were labeled barbarian. Tired of fighting for others, these people began fighting for themselves and created their own empire, the Seleucid Empire. After the Seleucid Empire collapsed, parts of present day Turkey eventually fell into the Ottoman Empire. If you were living in that age, you were property of the sultan, but if you were Turkish, you weren't property of the sultan.
The entrance of the harem has a narrow stone pathway called the Golden Road, dating back to the 15th century. The Golden Road extends between the Courtyard of the Harem Eunuch and the Privy Chamber. The sultan would use this passage when returning from war and it is believed that the sultan used to throw golden coins to be picked up by the concubines during festivals. It was quite extraordinary to be standing on the Golden Road and have the opportunity to even see the inside of this beautiful palace. While the palace was inhabited, there was no trespassing beyond the gates of the harem, except for those who lived there. It's no wonder greed and gluttony are two of the seven deadly sins because this beautiful gem of a palace should not have been hidden from the public.
The harem was the home of the sultan's mother (the Valide Sultan), the concubines (the sultan's mistresses), wives of the sultan, the sultan's family including children, and servants. Each group residing in the harem had its own living space clustered around a courtyard. The apartments were occupied by the harem eunuchs, the Chief Harem Eunuch, the concubines, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts, the princes, and favorites. The eunuchs acted as guards under the command of the Chief Harem Eunuch. The castrated service men in the Muslim and Turkish states during the Middle Ages were recruited to serve in the palace from the time of Çelebi Sultan Mehmed onward. These eunuchs were trained in the palace.
The Master of the Girls supervised the quarters where the female population of the palace lived. The Courtyard of the Sultan's Consorts and the Concubines was constructed in the 16th century and would fit 12 to 20 girls per room. The Queen Mother was in charge of the concubines and the ruler of the family. At the entrance to the quarters of the Queen Mother, beautiful wall frescoes were visible. In the Apartments of the Queen Mother, we were able to walk through the many rooms that made up one of the largest sections of the harem. The Valide Sultan, or Queen Mother, was the second most important position in the Ottoman Empire following the Sultan. As the mother of the Sultan, the Valide Sultan would have influence on the affairs of the Empire. Harem women who were slaves were never married to the sultans, but their children would be considered legitimate under Islamic law if condoned by the father. The concubines would be presented to the Sultan by discretion of the Valide Sultan, and would later devote their life to their children in the hopes that their son may outlive and outlast his many brothers and ascend to the throne.
One of the rooms we walked through was called the Circumcision Room. In 1640 Sultan Ibrahim I added this room dedicating it to the circumcision of young princes, a religious tradition in Islam for cleanliness and purity. This room had a large dome ceiling with a globe hanging by a string. The ceiling represents the universe, the globe represents the sultan, and the string from which it hangs is a representation of wisdom. This palace is so big that it truly has a room for every occasion.
It would have been very difficult being a child during the Ottoman Empire, especially living in the palace. Although there are many buildings which are all extravagant, there were still tight living quarters for everyone except the Sultan and his family. Boys would be collected when they were six, seven, or eight to be educated. If the boys weren't progressing or proving themselves in the classroom they would become soldiers. Girls were also collected and brought to the harem to be educated in becoming a servant. Some girls were collected to make princes for the Sultan, then discarded from the palace once they were 12 to 24 years old.
We had a little less than an hour to finish walking around the palace and grab lunch on our own. We decided to walk through a few exhibits including the costumes, weapons, library and other general artifacts. Everything was very extravagant with jewels and gold everywhere. Even the swords and daggers had inscriptions and jewels embedded in them. I was curious how many of these weapons were given as gifts rather than being utilized in battle.
Our last stop in Topkapı Palace was the Enderun Library, or Library of Ahmed III. This library was built in 1719 by Ahmed III with the intent of providing a resource for officials of the royal household. The library mainly contains books on theology, Islamic law, and similar works in Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. Today the books are kept in Ağalar Mosque. Something about libraries in this country have really captured my eye. Whether the libraries are simplistic, highly decorated, large, or small, my inner bookworm persona is beginning to emerge.
It was difficult to navigate our way around the palace, but we finally managed to find our way out. My lunch consisted of espresso ice cream and left over apricots from this morning's breakfast. It was only 11am and I was still pretty full from breakfast, but it was just enough to hold me over until dinner.
I've seen the word "döner" nearly everywhere we go. At the University of Vermont I've somehow managed to pick up the nickname "dooner" and "doon." My friend who goes to college with me, Colby, started talking like a hillbilly one night with a country accent. As I walk into the room, a group of my friends were so excited to see me that they started saying my name with this accent. Once they discovered that "dooner" and "doon" was a lot more fun to say than "Elise," the name stuck and that is all they have called me since. Even though "döner" isn't quite the same spelling as my last name, I was still curious what it meant. I soon learned that it meant turner, as in the meat that is up on the wheel that turns. Cami's name in Turkish means mosque, but no, I get meat turner. I might leave out the translation of my name when telling my friends back home about my Turkish adventures.
As we were rocking out on the bus on our way to the Istanbul Toy Museum, I sat next to Cami and got the opportunity to know her a little better. We actually had a surprisingly deep conversation and I was very humbled that Cami felt safe enough to share intimate details of her life with me. We were able to connect through our experiences and discover that we have a lot of similarities. Cami works with women with special needs and I work with women involved in domestic violence, so we both work in social service agencies that require patience and compassion. I think this is part of the reason why I'm drawn to Cami, enjoy spending time with her, and feel like I can really open up. She has been one of the first people to really ask about some of my life experiences in an inquiring and nonjudgmental way. Even during this hour long bus ride, I could already feel an awesome friendship forming. Cami is definitely someone I want to spend more time with in Istanbul and for the remainder of our time in Denmark.
We arrived at the Istanbul Toy Museum while Cami and I were in the middle of a great conversation, which gives us more of a reason to hang out later. The Istanbul Toy Museum was opened in 2005 with more than 4,000 toys acquired over 20 years from all over the world. The museum was founded by Sunay Akin, a Turkish poet and author. The building is five stories high with each room resembling a different theme. The collection includes antique samples of traditional Turkish toys and pieces that reflect the culture of various countries. There were two life sized giraffes at the front of the museum by the road, which already gave me an indication that this museum was going to be an exciting adventure. I was excited to begin exploring the Istanbul Toy Museum and follow the history of dreams and science through the language of toys.
We started by breaking up into two groups. My group started by participating in an interactive workshop for children. We went outside to a room that was decorated like a giant version of Candy Land with statues of characters and colorful pictures painted all over the walls. In the middle of the room was a table full of paints and place settings. One of the men that works at the museum began going through the workshop with us explaining different ways he engages with the children and what they actually do. He showed us the different animals that he made out of wood that he would offer to the children to paint. After going through all the animals, he gave us the opportunity to paint one. I thought we were just getting a demonstration of the workshop, so I was surprised to be invited to paint. My favorite animal being an elephant, of course this was the animal I decided to paint. I painted a bright blue elephant with a contagious smile. On our way out of the Candy Land room we were required to name our animals, and mine soon got the name Elle the Elephant. After the workshop was over I met up with Cami to see what she painted. She painted a bright blue elephant almost identical to mine, we really must be twins.
Art, music, and drama are great ways to work with children because I believe it is incredibly important for children to have an outlet for creative expression. I thought the children's workshop at the toy museum was a great way for children to express themselves when other means of communication might present a barrier. Similar to music, art is another activity that is universal. If a child moves to a new country with little knowledge of the language or culture, drawing is a way for children to explain what is going on in their heads without using words. People attempting to analyze and address the meaning of this artwork should be careful not to generalize or jump to any conclusions. Individual experiences are different, and children should have the opportunity to play freely and express themselves in a way that is comfortable for them.
While the other group was participating in the workshop, we had the opportunity to walk around the museum. I couldn't believe how many toys were in the museum. I could have spent hours looking around and still not seen everything. Some of the most interesting toys I saw were soldiers representing battles throughout history including Nazi flags from World War II and American flags perched on top of a barricade with bleeding soldiers on stretchers below. These toys were surprisingly graphic and I was curious what purpose these toys served by providing such a devastating and realistic image of war. I don't think the intent was to scare the children, but these toys certainly would have frightened me at a young age. I'm curious if children started to become desensitized to the idea of war through the use of social media and toys produced during this time period.
Toys in the many other rooms were more lighthearted and fun than the soldiers and images of war. There were boats, trains, airplanes, spaceships, barbies, Mickey Mouse and his gang, robots, and many more. I decided to start at the top floor of the museum and work my way down, so for the majority of the museum I was walking around by myself. When I entered the room full of trains, there were props to improve to the overall atmosphere including a life sized train seat. In the room you could heard distant sounds of a train chugging along the track. In the boat room you can find maps, compasses, ropes, and sounds of the ocean. There was a great deal of thought put into each room to make the atmosphere just right, and walking through the rest of the museum I started to become surprisingly emotional. I was overcome with a sense of gratitude for the childhood I had. Sure there were struggles, but I had two loving parents and a supportive system of aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Looking at all the toys I couldn't help but think that everyone deserves a childhood like this. At first I felt like every child should have access to toys and have the ability to enjoy their childhood, but I'm beginning to realize that toys aren't always necessary for a happy childhood. More important than toys and material objects, everyone deserves a childhood with a support system, whoever this support system may include.
We took a ferry to Princes' Islands to spend our final evening. The Princes' Islands are a chain of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara. There is no traffic on the island because the only method of transportation is horse drawn carriage, bicycling, or walking. During the Byzantine era, royalty were exiled to the islands, and later the Ottoman sultans family were also exiled here. Today the islands are a popular tourist attraction as well as a home for wealthy people in Istanbul. After the ferry dropped us off, we loaded into a horse carriage four at a time to go to a private beach to swim.
Our driver was must have been in the Kentucky Derby because we passed at least five other carriages along the way. It was still nice to sit back and enjoy the scenery on the way to the private beach even if we were racing through the streets. We were riding down a narrowing dirt path which was an indicator that we were getting close, and all of a sudden the driver stops. There were no other carriages except one other group in front of us, no beaches, no bodies of water, no teachers, no Koray, nothing was around us. We had no idea where we were going and were too excited by riding in the carriage to ask what to do once we arrived. The carriage must have dropped us off at this location because they were running out of places to turn around. The most logical thing to do was to keep moving forward, so that is exactly what we did. It still seemed like we were fairly high in elevation, so we were starting to get a little worried about proceeding. Before too long we found Maja walking towards us from farther down the path. She told us to keep on walking until we saw water. At least we knew we were headed in the right direction, but the experience was still baffling as we continued forward. We came to a fork in the road, of course. If we actually thought twice we probably would have followed the arrows towards Aile Plaji Beach, but it looked like a private home with a patio, so we continued straight. It was no surprise that within five minutes we ran into a dead end before realizing our mistake. Quickly backtracking, we were apprehensive as we followed the signs towards the beach. It felt like we were trespassing on private property, and just our luck we would get arrested our last day in Turkey.
Before long, we knew we were in the right location because a hole in the trees provided a glimpse of the water below. It was a relief to know we were in the right place, and we couldn't wait to climb down the hill, put our bathing suits on, and get in the water. I managed to remember my bikini bottoms but not my top, so I improvised by using a sports bra. The afternoon heat was beginning to settle in, so we wasted no time before heading to the water. Cami and I were some of the first people from our group to get in the water. To our left was a Turkish flag waving proudly in the air and to our right was a beautiful image of Istanbul, I couldn't have asked for a better view as we leaped off the dock and into the chilling, but refreshing Sea of Marmara.
We spent the rest of the evening on the beach, playing in the water, and enjoying each other's company. Immediately after jumping in the water, Cami and I swam to the floating rafts on the boarder of the swimming area. There were a few girls that beat us to the rafts and were struggling to pull themselves up. It was slippery and the raft was surprisingly high above the water, so it wasn't surprising that it was difficult to get up, but I managed to pull myself up on the first try with ease. This was another time when playing on the monkey bars in elementary school really paid off. For the next hour or so we laid on the rafts soaking up the sun and chatting with others as more and more people climbed aboard.
As we were sitting on the rafts, we gazed into the water to see the occasional fish in addition to little clear objects that looked like plastic bags. Koray told us that the clear objects were actually jellyfish swimming around. It would have been nice to know there were jellyfish in the sea before jumping into the water, swimming over to the raft, and now being stuck here, afraid to get back in the water. After giving us a good scare, Koray said they couldn't sting us before proceeding to pick one up and throw it on Danielle. We all jumped and squirmed a little at the surprise, but then were excited about holding the jellyfish and were eager to catch one ourselves. They felt very strange between your fingers, almost like an egg white.
It was a perfect day to lounge at the beach with not a care in the world. I was loving every minute and didn't want the day to end. As the sun slowly began to set, we gathered on the shore to have dinner. We had salad, green bean, and eggplant appetizers and an assortment of foods for the main course. Like every meal we've had in Turkey, I was incredibly full by the time we were done. After dinner we all gathered on the docks to relax and chat while watching the sun go down.
As we were sitting and enjoying the sunset, this little rat of a dog is running around and through our group. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, but this dog was obnoxious. One minute it would be barking at everything and the next minute it would be humping anything that moved. The dog's name was Romeo, go figure. It's owner was at the other end of the dock and didn't seem to care about what Romeo was doing. If Romeo accidentally jumped into the water, I wonder if his owner would have noticed. On second thought, if Romeo was accidentally pushed in the water, I wonder if his owner would have noticed.
We had 20 minutes before the ferry arrived to take us back to the mainland, so we walked around and window shopped. Window shopping quickly turned into actual shopping as Cami bought a fedora and I got a flower headband. I went back and forth before buying it, unsure if and when I would ever wear it. I was finally convinced, and I'll wear it whenever and wherever I want. Besides it makes me look like a hippie, so I'll fit right in back in Vermont.I'm so lucky to be developing such a great friendship with Cami. We are similar in many ways, but also different in aspects that I admire about her. I admire Cami's ability to stand up for what she believes in. There have been several occasions where someone uses the work "retarded" in an inappropriate context within the conversation. Cami doesn't skip a beat and will politely disapprove of the word choice. There are times when I let inappropriate comments slide, and I hope I can learn from Cami's example in standing up for the right thing. In addition to hanging out the majority of the evening at the beach, Cami and I also sat next to each other on the ferry and the bus ride home. The more I talk to her, the more lucky I feel to have met her.
By the time we got back to the bus, I was exhausted and dozed off here and there during the ride. Waking up from a short nap, I realized the bus had stopped. We definitely weren't back at our hotel and my initial reaction was that the bus hit something or that we were stuck somewhere wedged between buildings. Seeing as there were no buildings around and I didn't feel a crash, Maja told us that Koray had one last surprise for the day. It was approaching midnight, I was exhausted, and I couldn't imagine a better surprise than my bed. Koray always has something up his sleeve, so of course the surprise was much better than sleep. I had no idea where we were, but I did know we were on top of a hill that overlooked Europe from one side and Asia from the other. The city lights were breathtaking and buildings, bridges, and houses sparkled as bright as stars in the night sky. The hill was surprisingly populated for being so late at night. Koray told us that families often gather until midnight to hang out and spend time together. There was no drinking, no vandalism, just individuals, couples, friends, children, and families gathered to enjoy the cool night breeze. This welcoming and genuine display of Turkish culture was a perfect way to end our last night in Istanbul.
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