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Behind this fountain, built by Sultan Ahmet III, rise the outer walls of Topkapi Palace.
The Imperial Gate, next to the Sultan Ahmet III fountain and Aya Sofya, gives access to the first court of Topkapi Palace, also known as the Court of the Janissaries, which has now become Gülhane Park open to all.
The large Gülhane park is now enjoyed by the local population who flock to it for a stroll on weekends and holidays. It holds three or four minor museums and surrounds a second set of walls through which the middle gate shown here gives access to the palace's second court.
Topkapi Palace, built by Nehmet the Conqueror sometime around 1460, is spread out over four successive courts the access to which was reserved to fewer and fewer people,just like the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was also built in the 15th century.
The main building complex, the imperial harem, reserved for the sultan, his wives, concubines and children, lies beyond this tower, the Tower of Justice that stands over the council chamber seen here in the second court.
As many as 500 people lived in the 300 odd rooms of the harem. It took me half a day to visit it when I was here last in 1965 so I skipped it this time. You didn't loose anything because it is forbidden to take photos inside the harem!
It seems that all great palaces have an armoury to show off the implements of the violence by which the owner had acquired and maintained his power. Topkapi is no exception and this is it.
Like all great palaces, Topkapi also has treasure rooms to show off the plunder accumulated by the Empire, here, some are in the harem and others can be visited in the third court.
Those privileged individuals that were allowed to pass from the second court into the third through this gate were no doubt very happy to be so honoured. That must be why they called it the Gate of Felicity!
The Gate of Felicity is just behind these two buildings: the Audience Chamber in the back and the white Library of Ahmet III in front.
Perhaps the Gate of Felicity was given that name because of the extreme pleasure of being in the presence of the sultan Himself in the Audience Chamber!
This building in the third court houses holy objects of which alleged relics of the Prophet Mohammed.
Looking back to the place from which I took the last picture, we see the treasury barracks in the centre, where calligraphy, illuminations and miniatures are displayed, and we can guess where the imperial treasury building is hidden behind the trees.
Passing now into the fourth court, we come upon this delightful small mosque overlooking the Bosphorus. It was locked when I was there so I did not find out why it is called the "Sofa Mosque" . Anyway, the view over the open water was great!
This elegant pavilion called the "Baghdad Kiosk" on the opposite side of the fourth court offers a great view from its terrace.
Here is the terrace overlooking the Golden Horn which, in imperial times, was a busy port filled with ships from all over the known world.
I can imagine the great sultans, looking over what was then the navel of the universe and I wonder how many of them had the urge to sneak out from under the weight of their responsibilities to discover how the world really was like Peter the Great did.
Looking back from the Baghdad Kiosk towards the harem, this little niche with the golden roof is probably where the sultans did their day-dreaming while looking over the heart of their empire.
As last picture of Topkapi, I offer this view of the terrace from the dark arcades of the mysterious forbidden harem that I will no doubt visit again someday.
I hope you enjoyed letting your imagination run loose in Topkapi. If that didn't work, try to see what adventures the following pictures of Istanbul's great covered bazaar can conjure up for you...
The Istanbul bazaar is really huge, it has wide avenues like this one, several large hans that used to harbour camel caravans, streets like those below, narrow alleys and some dark corners where anything can happen.
Today's bazaar is quite modern and obviously well policed but just try to imagine what visiting this place must have been like in the 19th century, or in the 17th, or even in the 15th when Nehmet the Conqueror started building it!
There is generally no TV in the cheap hotels I use when I travel. Visiting historic places like Topkapi and the Bazaar brings forth dreams of much more exciting adventures than the current crop on TV so I don't need TV on the road (except perhaps for the news when I can understand the language).
I mention this because some viewers have told me they use my photos and travelogues to stimulate their dreams... that's OK, I do the same myself when I'm stuck in the comfort of my home.
I dream a lot but I only have ordinary, down-to-earth dreams about doing odd things with strange people in faraway places. I have all kinds of dreams but they always happen in the real material world. There was a time when I would have liked to dream about the spiritual world but that never happened...
The next page is about whirling dervishes who seem to be able to dream about the spirit world as often and as far as they wish.
