Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Right behind the Audience Chamber is the pretty
Library of Ahmet III
, built in 1719.
Light-filled, it has comfortable reading areas and stunning inlaid woodwork.
On the eastern edge of the Third Court is the
Dormitory of the Expeditionary Force
,
which now houses a rich collection of imperial robes, kaftans and uniforms worked in sil-
ver and gold thread. Also here is a fascinating collection of talismanic shirts, which were
believed to protect the wearer from enemies and misfortunes of all kinds. Textile design
reached its highest point during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, when the imperial
workshops produced cloth of exquisite design and weave. Don't miss Süleyman's gor-
geous silk kaftan with its appliquéd tulip design.
On the other side of the Third Court are the
Sacred Safekeeping Rooms
. These rooms,
sumptuously decorated with İznik tiles, house many relics of the Prophet. When the sul-
tans lived here, the rooms were opened only once a year so that the imperial family could
pay homage to the memory of the Prophet on the 15th day of the holy month of Ramazan.
Next to the sacred Safekeeping Rooms is the
Dormitory of the Privy Chamber
, which
houses portraits of 36 sultans. It includes a copy of Gentile Bellini's portrait of Mehmet
the Conqueror (the original is in London's National Gallery) and a wonderful painting of
the
Enthronement Ceremony of Sultan Selim III
(1789).
LIFE IN THE CAGE
In the early centuries of the empire, Ottoman princes were schooled as youths in combat and statecraft by
direct experience. But as the Ottoman dynasty did not observe primogeniture (succession of the firstborn),
the death of the sultan regularly resulted in a fratricidal bloodbath as his sons - often from different mothers
- battled among themselves for the throne. This changed when Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603-20) couldn't bring
himself to murder his brother Mustafa and decided instead to keep him imprisoned in Topkapı's Harem, so
beginning the tradition of
kafes hayatı
(cage life). This house arrest, adopted in place of fratricide by suc-
ceeding sultans, meant that princes were kept ignorant of war and statecraft and usually rendered unfit to
rule when the occasion arose. This contributed to the decline of the Empire's power and that of succeeding
sultans, even though in later years the dynasty observed the custom of primogeniture.
Sultan Murat III (r 1574-95) had 112 children.
