Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City by John Freely, Hilary Sumner-Boyd Page A
Authors: John Freely, Hilary Sumner-Boyd
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in the city. This complex dates in essentials from Fatih’s time, though much altered at subsequent periods. The tower was lower in Fatih’s day and had a pyramidal roof, the present structure with its Corinthian columns having been added by Mahmut II in 1820.
The complex consists of the Council Chamber or Divan proper, the Public Records Office and the Office of the Grand Vezir. The first two open widely into one another by a great arch; each is square and domed. Both were redecorated in the time of Ahmet III in a rather charming rococo style, but the Council Chamber was restored in 1945 to its appearance in the reign of Murat III, who had restored it after the great fire of 1574. The lower walls are revetted in Iznik tiles of the best period, while the upper parts, the vaults and the dome, retain faded traces of their original arabesque painting. Around three sides of the room run low couch es covered with carpets. Here sat the members of the Council; the Grand Vezir in the centre opposite the door, the other Lords of Council on either side of him in strict order of rank. Over the Grand Vezir’s seat is a grilled window giving into a small room in the tower; here the sultans, after they had ceased to attend meetings of the Divan, could overhear the proceedings unseen. The Records Office has retained its eighteenth-century decor; here were kept records that might be needed at Council meetings. From here a door led to the Grand Vezir’s office, though the present entrance is from under the elaborate portico with richly painted rococo ceiling.
Adjacent to these three rooms is the Inner Treasury, a long room with eight domes in four pairs supported by three massive piers. Here and in the vaults below was stored the treasure of the Empire as it arrived from the provinces, and here it was kept until the quarterly pay-days for the use of the Council, the payment of officials, Janissaries and others; at the end of each quarter what remained unspent was transferred to the Imperial Treasury in the Third Court. In this room is now displayed the Saray’s collection of arms and armour. As one would expect, this is especially rich in Turkish armour of all periods, including much that belonged to the sultans themselves, and outstanding pieces of booty from foreign conquests in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Retracing our steps under the loggia of the Divan, we come to a door almost underneath the tower. This is the Carriage Gate, one of the two main entrances to the Harem; we shall return to it later after visiting the rest of the palace first. The remainder of the west side of the Court is occupied by a long portico where are displayed various Turkish inscriptions assembled from different places. A small door in this wall near the Carriage Gate leads to the quarters of the Halberdiers-with-Tresses (Zülüflü Baltac ı lar), so called because two false curls or tresses hung down from their tall hats in front of their eyes. This strange headgear was devised so that the Halberdiers, who on occasion delivered firewood to the Harem, could not get a good view of the odalisques! The quarters of the Halberdiers-with-Tresses are as picturesque as their name, but they are not open to the public.
At the south end of this portico, a door called the Gate of the Dead (Meyyit Kap ı s ı ), because through it were borne the bodies of those who died in the Saray, leads down to the area of the Privy Stables on the lower slope of the hill. We come first to the mid-eighteenth-century mosque of Be ş ir A ğ a. This is chiefly interesting for its curious minaret corbelled out from a corner of the building; the minaret has no balcony but, instead, an enclosed space at the top with openings for the müezzin to make the call to prayer. The Privy Stables (Has Ah ı r), which housed only 20 or 30 horses for the use of the Sultan and his favourite pages, occupied the long building which runs from end to end of this area. Built by Fatih, it consists of two
The complex consists of the Council Chamber or Divan proper, the Public Records Office and the Office of the Grand Vezir. The first two open widely into one another by a great arch; each is square and domed. Both were redecorated in the time of Ahmet III in a rather charming rococo style, but the Council Chamber was restored in 1945 to its appearance in the reign of Murat III, who had restored it after the great fire of 1574. The lower walls are revetted in Iznik tiles of the best period, while the upper parts, the vaults and the dome, retain faded traces of their original arabesque painting. Around three sides of the room run low couch es covered with carpets. Here sat the members of the Council; the Grand Vezir in the centre opposite the door, the other Lords of Council on either side of him in strict order of rank. Over the Grand Vezir’s seat is a grilled window giving into a small room in the tower; here the sultans, after they had ceased to attend meetings of the Divan, could overhear the proceedings unseen. The Records Office has retained its eighteenth-century decor; here were kept records that might be needed at Council meetings. From here a door led to the Grand Vezir’s office, though the present entrance is from under the elaborate portico with richly painted rococo ceiling.
Adjacent to these three rooms is the Inner Treasury, a long room with eight domes in four pairs supported by three massive piers. Here and in the vaults below was stored the treasure of the Empire as it arrived from the provinces, and here it was kept until the quarterly pay-days for the use of the Council, the payment of officials, Janissaries and others; at the end of each quarter what remained unspent was transferred to the Imperial Treasury in the Third Court. In this room is now displayed the Saray’s collection of arms and armour. As one would expect, this is especially rich in Turkish armour of all periods, including much that belonged to the sultans themselves, and outstanding pieces of booty from foreign conquests in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Retracing our steps under the loggia of the Divan, we come to a door almost underneath the tower. This is the Carriage Gate, one of the two main entrances to the Harem; we shall return to it later after visiting the rest of the palace first. The remainder of the west side of the Court is occupied by a long portico where are displayed various Turkish inscriptions assembled from different places. A small door in this wall near the Carriage Gate leads to the quarters of the Halberdiers-with-Tresses (Zülüflü Baltac ı lar), so called because two false curls or tresses hung down from their tall hats in front of their eyes. This strange headgear was devised so that the Halberdiers, who on occasion delivered firewood to the Harem, could not get a good view of the odalisques! The quarters of the Halberdiers-with-Tresses are as picturesque as their name, but they are not open to the public.
At the south end of this portico, a door called the Gate of the Dead (Meyyit Kap ı s ı ), because through it were borne the bodies of those who died in the Saray, leads down to the area of the Privy Stables on the lower slope of the hill. We come first to the mid-eighteenth-century mosque of Be ş ir A ğ a. This is chiefly interesting for its curious minaret corbelled out from a corner of the building; the minaret has no balcony but, instead, an enclosed space at the top with openings for the müezzin to make the call to prayer. The Privy Stables (Has Ah ı r), which housed only 20 or 30 horses for the use of the Sultan and his favourite pages, occupied the long building which runs from end to end of this area. Built by Fatih, it consists of two
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