Topkapi Palace (July 31, Part I)

This morning we made plans to go to the Spice Market and Topkapi Palace. We took the tram to the Spice Market, then walked…and walked…and walked around trying to get in. We couldn’t find the way in- every door was closed! How odd, though, because it was supposed to be open 7 days a week. We finally asked, and they told us that it is closed only today because they’re doing some kind of renovation. Well, I guess that can wait for another day! We headed to Topkapi Palace and bought our tickets. It is hugeee! And gorgeous. Everything outside the palace is so green and shady and relaxing. It’s like a huge park with lots of grass, trees, flowers, shade, and walkways. I just wanted to lay under the trees or have a picnic! The palace has so many different buildings. We went into a ton of them but still didn’t go into nearly all of them. It would have taken forever! There were many interesting artifacts and preserved things there. Tons of giant gems and jewelry, Muhammed’s footprint, and the old clothes of the sultans were just a few of the things we saw. The balcony and seaside of the palace was beautiful- and we could see our ship! Oh, what a hard life it must have been to live there. :) It would have been hard work to hold those heavy, blingy necklaces up! It was really cool going to the Topkapi Palace.

For those of you who don’t know any Turkish (we got impromptu lessons the night before we got to port), the “i” in Topkapi doesn’t have a dot on it, and is pronounced “uh.” So it sounds out to “tope-cop-uh” palace. Also, if the “G” has a little half circle above it, it is silent and you draw out the letter before it. If the “C” or “S” has a squiggly on the bottom of it, they are pronounced “ch” and “sh.” And lastly, the letter “C” is always a “J” sound. Besides those letters, it’s all phoenetic! And that concludes your Turkish lesson for the day. :)

We got lunch at a cute little place- I got rice and a tortilla/pita-like thing with a funky name, because of my stomach still. Then we came back to the ship to make plans for Asia. And now I have to go because we’re heading to Asia! No big deal…