This dazzling palace is a sprawling wonder of architecture and treasures

Seven wonders within Topkapi Palace

The residence and administrative centre of Ottoman sultans for 400 years, Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace is a sprawling wonder of Islamic architecture and sumptuous treasures.

1 Check out the Palace Kitchens

Bronze caldrons and cooking pots in the Palace Kitchens.Credit: Alamy

The first major sight of this complex is the Palace Kitchens: good to be reminded that thousands of ordinary people toiled in the Topkapi to keep its residents in luxury. Domes, arches and chimneys provide austerely beautiful architecture. Fireplaces are vast, and so are the blackened cauldrons once used to feed 15,000 people. The kitchens now display glassware, silverware and one of the world’s great collections of Chinese porcelain. The rare fifth-century, green-glazed celadon pottery is marvellous.

2 Rummage through the sultans’ wardrobe

The sultans’ wardobe.Credit: Getty Images

The leather boots, chic silk trousers, kaftans lined with fur, shirts embroidered with gold and silver thread, army uniforms and jewel-encrusted imperial robes displayed in the recently restored and revamped Dormitory of the Expeditionary Force showcase high Ottoman fashion and power bling over the centuries. If nothing else, stop by for the gorgeous robes and kaftans densely embroidered with floral patterns, which are works of art to rival the palace’s tile work.

3 Admire the beauties of the Harem

The Harem of the Sultans.Credit: iStock

Topkapi is a place of fabulous tall tales, and the Harem delivers titillation and Orientalist stereotypes in spades. This was the living quarters of the imperial family, although sometimes crowded with concubines. The selection of rooms open to the public are empty, but the stained-glass and tiled decorative motifs of flowers and Koranic inscriptions are sumptuous. The fabulous Privy Chamber of Murat III, designed by famous 16th-century architect Sinan, is alone worth a ticket.

4 Tiptoe through the tulips of the library

The Sultan III Ahmet library.Credit: iStock

Amid the stunning decorative architecture of this enormous complex, the Library of Ahmet III is easily overlooked thanks to its rather plain, elephant-grey exterior. It is however a lovely, light-filled pavilion graced inside with yellow and blue tiles and stained-glass. Look up – the dome is a beautiful canopy in yellow and white, emblazoned with stylised tulip motifs typical of the early 18th-century. Even the door panels and shutters, inlaid with ivory, are beautiful.

5 Pay your respects in the Sacred Safekeeping Rooms

The gilded entrance to the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle.Credit: Getty Images

You’ll be astonished at this collection of sacred relics, perhaps the world’s most important. Among the treasures is the earliest copy of the Koran, the first four caliphs’ swords and a tooth and hair of the prophet Mohammed. The most important item is Mohammed’s Holy Mantle, although all you can see (through a window grille) is its golden casket in a locked room.

6 Be dazzled by the Imperial Treasury

The Spoonmaker’s Diamond.Credit: Getty Images

The centrepiece of this collection is the pear-shaped, 85.80-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond, surrounded by 49 smaller diamonds, and with enough twinkle to mesmerise mere common sightseers. But the objects that cram four rooms show how the super-rich can adorn anything with gemstones: suits of armour, Koran covers, candelabras, walking sticks. A hunting bow and dagger are pitted with emeralds. Check out the gilded wooden rocking cradle popping with pearls and rubies: kitschy, but a work of art.

7 Take in panoramas from pavilions

Views from the Topkaki Palace Museum.Credit: iStock

Topkapi’s courtyards get more delicate and elegant the further you get in the complex. The fourth courtyard is the loveliest, with several kiosks (or pavilions) among landscaped gardens set with splashing fountains and popping with tulips or roses depending on the season. The kiosks are patterned in marble and iznik tiles and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell, and several have fine views over the Golden Horn, Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara, although you’ll get the best panorama from the Outer Terrace.

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The writer travelled at his own expense.