Istanbul is inherently beautiful. Not only does it straddle the vastly different Eastern and Western cultures, it has also witnessed the rise and fall of ancient empires.

The shadow of history can be found everywhere in the buildings of this city.

Among them, Topkapi Old Palace is the most unforgettable.

1. The palace was built a little too freely. Topkapi Palace was the center of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the 19th century. 25 sultans successively ruled the world here and lived a luxurious life.

The entire palace is paved with snow-white marble, which is truly luxurious and magnificent.

The Ottoman Empire, which was born out of the nomadic people, even built palaces in a somewhat haphazard manner, unlike the ancient Romans who paid attention to neat planning.

Following the seaside terrain, each generation of kings could add buildings to the side or back of the palace as they pleased to leave their own traces, making this group of buildings on a hill overlooking the Bosporus and the Golden Horn somewhat bizarre.

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According to historical records, when the first Sultan first moved into the palace, he often couldn't get used to it, so he sent people to set up tents in the open space of the palace, and stayed with the bright moon and cool breeze at night.

Later, the Sultan, who grew up in the palace, enjoyed the singing and dancing of his concubines in the palace and the tenderness between the beds all day long, while the wild nature of the nomads had long since disappeared.

2. The imperial kitchen displays Chinese porcelain. Pass through the main gate of Topkapi Palace and enter a beautiful courtyard, which once connected the food center and the harem of the Ottoman Empire.

In the imperial dining room on the right side of the courtyard, during its heyday, thousands of cooks were busy here, providing delicious meals to princes, nobles and concubines.

Turkey is known as the third largest country of gourmet food in the world. This has a lot to do with the Topkapi Palace Royal Kitchen’s pursuit of excellence in gourmet food.

The food center at that time has now become a porcelain collection hall, displaying the collections of the sultans of the past dynasties, including porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China.

Thinking that the delicacies in the palace were placed in these vessels and brought to the Sultan and his women, the strange history of a foreign country became vivid in the porcelain in front of him.

3. There were once as many as 1,200 concubines located in the Sultan's Harem on the left side of the courtyard. The walls of the palace are covered with blue-toned tiles, with patterns unique to the Ottoman period, entwining and stretching, just like the enchanting beauties in the palace.

The harem has more than 300 rooms and is said to be able to accommodate thousands of people.

One of them is probably used by the concubines for gatherings and chatting. Next to the bright window, there are "beauty couches" one after another. The soft colored gauze pours down from the roof, making people fall into a mysterious reverie.

Middle: Singing and dancing every night, countless resentful women in the palace, endless love and hatred... It is said that the number of concubines in the harem was as high as 1,200 at its peak.

The biggest feature of the Sultan's harem is its "internationalization".

The Ottoman Empire originally expanded its sphere of influence to Europe, Asia, and Africa. You can imagine how rich the sources of beauties in the harem were.

However, even the most beautiful palaces will fade with age like the beauties of the harem, and Topkapi Palace was eventually abandoned - and a new palace was built on the European coast of the Bosporus.

This new palace is filled with European flavor everywhere, with the magnificent celebration hall and the 4.5-ton crystal chandelier hanging leisurely... When luxury became a habit and waste became commonplace, the Ottoman Empire became as fragile as the delicate body of a concubine.

Less than 70 years after the new palace was built, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the last sultan went into exile, and the beauties in the harem dispersed, leaving only the beautiful and desolate old and new palaces, listening to the wind and rain blowing across the Bosporus.

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