Private Topkapi Palace & Harem Tour

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Duration: 3h
Location: Topkapi Palace, Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey | Istanbul, Turkey


Category: Attractions

Highlights:
History, scandal & romance of Ottoman sultans & their courts
Fast-track entrance tickets for more time spent exploring
Visit to the inner heart of Topkapi Palace—the Harem
Elegant interiors, sumptuous decor & majestic architecture
In-depth & comprehensive commentary from an expert guide

Inclusions:
Guided tour of Topkapi Palace
Skip-the-line admission to Topkapi Palace and the Harem
Live tour commentary provided in English

Description:

For most visitors, Topkapi Palace represents an incredibly foreign concept—a palace that once housed 4,000 people including concubines, eunuchs, sultans, and crowned princes. But how did it all work? Get the inside scoop with your own dedicated local tour guide and skip-the-line tickets.

Step through the sumptuous entrance and begin your exploration of the opulent Topkapi Palace, the home to Ottoman sultans for more than 400 years. See palace kitchens that once prepared 6,000 meals a day, and visit the jewel-filled Imperial Treasury with its fabled collection of miniatures and relics, including the forearm of St. John the Baptist.

Walk through the Imperial Hall as your guide shares stories about the fascinating and colorful daily life of the palace's long-ago residents. Hear how unhappy Sultans punished their viziers by having them strangled by eunuch guards, and enter the heart of the palace—the Harem—to uncover the complicated politics of the Sultan’s private life. Along with the official imperial family, including the sultan's mother and 4 wives, this area also housed as many as 300 concubines.

Admire the palace's mosaicked fountains, quiet gardens, gilded décor, and ornate murals as you listen to commentary from your guide, an expert in history, art, and architecture with captivating storytelling abilities.