Written by Nolan Tester
Merhaba ve n’aber!
Traveling from Capadocia is enduring work. Therefore, no blog was written for the 17th. Nonetheless, we are back in Istanbul doing as the Ottomans do.
Today we travelled to the Dolmabahçe palace and Rumeli Hisarı or Fortress of Europe.
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| Tourist entrance into the palace |
The Dolmabahçe palace was started in 1843 and finished in 1856 as another home for the Ottoman sultan and his family and harem. The palace is designed after European architectural styles including baroque, rococo, and gothic. The interior features many pieces from across the world including English, French, German, Russian, and Japanese productions.
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| Grand chandelier in main meeting room |
The opulence and grandeur of the palace knows no bounds as the interior remains one of the most awe striking works I’ve seen during my time in Türkiye. However, under the gilded molding, ornate vases, and magnificent chandeliers, the palace harbors a deep sense of desperation. The palace was built only decades before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Thus, during this time, great economic decline and territorial losses backed the ottomans into an unfamiliar position. A result of these circumstances led the empire to be considered “the sick man of Europe,” deemed so by Nicholas II, the Russian tsar. This stung the sultan and empire as a whole because of their continued effort to show the European powers they could hang. Therefore, the sultan, Abdülmedjid I, thought, “what’s more European than a palace built by Europeans?” Following this revelation, he ordered the construction of the Dolmabahçe palace. On top of showing strength, the palace was also a show of continued economic stability; something they were certainly not.
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| A lion symbolizing the sultan |
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| A lioness with her cubs representing the prince |
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| Grand staircase to second floor |
Overall, through the sheen and glean of the palace, it holds an overwhelming desperation to belong and maintain a semblance of a thriving empire. The palace was built to show the opulence of a failing empire. It was emboldened, inspired, and built by Europeans to show other Europeans how European the ottomans were.
Moving along, we bussed along the beautiful Bosporus river and ogled at the wealthy homes of the area before reaching the Runeli Hisarı. Nonetheless, we enter the medieval castle and are greeted by the grand stone walls of the inner courtyard.
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| Side of the castle’s tower |
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| Spolia on tower |
The castle was built across the Bosporus river to have a highly strategic location just across from the target for eventual invasion, Constantinople. The construction of the castle was undertaken by over 7000 soldiers and was hurriedly completed using pieces of stone sourced from many different locations. Spolia, the act of taking an old material from another structure and repurposing it, is exampled perfectly here because of the nature of its composition. The position of this fortress was strategic not only for its shouting distance front Constantinople, but also it allowed for quick maritime movement across the Bosporus; something that played a vital role in the quick and decisive invasion in 1453. This invasion was quick not just because of this particular fortress, but also the collective effort to invade Constantinople across decades by many sultans.
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| Courtyard garden |
Closing out our time at the fortress we overlooked the beautiful gardens and gleaming Bosporus painting the landscape. However, we soon learned this was the calm before the storm as a fast moving sleet storm swept over us, quickening our pace to the bus to end the day of touring. With that, I end today’s blog. Myself and all look forward to the final remaining days of this course. I hope you have enjoyed our antics as much as us!
Iyi akşamlar!
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