I was in Istanbul recently, and what surprised me was the absolute depth of the cities attractions. I stayed in the Kadıköy and Sultanahmet districts, and it was so incredible to walk through a society which had been Monkey Patched through millennia. The runtime behavior of the objects, streets, buildings and the city had been adapted time and time again. Roman temples becoming Churches becoming Mosques becoming Museums, sometimes simply with some new tiles or a freshly laid down carpet. Each layer rich in artifacts. My favorite attraction was the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, some of the most detailed and vibrant mosaics I had ever seen. I hope to return soon.
It’s truly beautiful. After many visits though, the rundown nature of the history started to distress me.
See the Hagia Sophia, which appears to have been left to dilapidate since it was turned into a mosque all those centuries ago. A conversion process which appears to have amounted to plastering over the stunning mosaics, and drilling some Arabic script plaques into the walls. Some of which were exposed while it was a museum, but have been cordoned off again now that it’s been re-mosqued
I only noticed this when, on a recent trip, I travelled around the city with a well educated Turkish millennial, and amateur historian, who pointed out these abuses of historical sites over and over again. Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things.
The palimpsest of history in the city is quite stunning though. And some stunning beauty in unexpected places. For example, the ceilings in the University of Istanbul are incredible.
> Topkapi and Dolmabace palaces are largely empty stone buildings with the trees in the yards being the most fascinating things.
Either you were not actually allowed to go in or things have changed a lot since the last time I visited those places.
Dolmabahçe is real "palace" palace. There are a lot of rooms with really extravagant furnishings, carpets, mirrors etc as well as lots of original art on the walls. Topkapı is more like a museum with artifacts from the time displayed behind glass. Still worth a visit. Contrast this to the "palaces" in Seoul where all the buildings are completely empty except for one of them having one large sofa or something. You are not allowed inside any of the buildings. You spend 3 hours walking around the (admittedly beautiful) gardens and ponds.
What I have seen happening though is with every passing year the percentage of the are that are open to tourists is decreasing. It used to be that you could do a relaxed tour of Dolmabahçe with the guide explaining everything in detail. Tours were in groups but people could fall behind and the guide would wait for you. Last time I was there the tour was more like a factory conveyor belt. The frequency of tours had increased dramatically and it took maybe 30 minutes to do the thing in a rush. If I remember correctly Atatürk's room wasn't even included. Guides would keep telling you to hurry up and not to fall back. Plus, photography was forbidden. I belive these changes to be designed for money making purposes.
(I noticed similar things in Cappadocia. The natural open areas where you could visit a few years ago are now cordoned off. There are more venues in venues where you have to pay extra to visit etc.)
I've been meaning to visit Göbekli Tepe but they alread got their hands on it. I don't know that it would be a worthwhile trip now.
So. I don't know why you said Dolmabahçe and Topkapı are empty buildings. Maybe they are now but I really do find that hard to believe. Did you visit only the Harem in Dolmabahçe or something. The Harem is basically like a huge dormatory. There's nothing fancy there.
Thank you for your reply. I went there on days when they were closed to the public, so they were totally empty of people who weren't staff. Perhaps I missed the best parts of them by not having a guide to conveyor belt me along! It's a hazard of being there for work, and only having an hour or so to freely wander about; a benefit though, is that we were allowed into some of the rooms and areas that are closed to the public. In retrospect, I probably should have reserved my opinion on the palaces. Next time I'm there I'll get a map and look around more methodically.
