每一個有歷史的首都必然會有一個皇宮，伊斯坦堡也不例外。托卡比皇宮俯瞰金角灣及馬摩拉海，可以清楚觀覽博斯普魯斯海峽。
Any
capital city with histories must have a palace.
Istanbul is no exception. Topkapi
Palace sits on a hill top overlooks the Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara, with a
good view of the Bosphorus.
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| 由皇宮看博斯普魯斯海峽 / Bosphorus from the Palace |
它是由蘇丹穆罕默德二世在1459年征服君士坦丁堡後下令動工興建。托卡比 （可翻譯為「大炮之門」）之名來自19世紀，當時的碉堡內曾放置大砲，故以此命名。鄂圖曼帝國在1921年滅亡。1924年4月3日，托卡比皇宮在政府政令下變成帝國時代的博物館。（來源： 維基百科）
It was
built under the reign of Sultan Mehmed II, who conquered Constantinople. It received the name "Topkapi"
(Cannon Gate) in the 19th century, after a (now lost) gate and shore pavilion. Following the end of the Ottoman Empire in
1923, Topkapi Palace was transformed by a government decree dated April 3,
1924, into a museum of the imperial era. (Source: Wikipedia)
往托比卡程宮「朝聖」/ To see Topkapi Palace for real
因為歷史頻道的節目「博物館之迷」曾經講述托卡比皇宮，以至對它有一點基本的認識。所以對今日的皇宮之旅十分期待。當然因為那是歷史節目而不是旅遊節目，所以它的內容大部份是關於皇宮的歷史而不是皇宮本身。因此探索皇宮是我當日的目標。
I really
looked forward to pay Topkapi Palace a visit, it’s because I watched an episode
of History Channel’s Museum Secrets (it was broadcasted by Yesterday in UK),
featuring Topkapi Palace. The episode
didn’t show much of the palace itself, but its rich history (it was, after all,
a history programme, not a travel programme).
Therefore exploring the palace was that day’s goal.
又濕又擠的皇宮 / The wet and crowded palace
一陣一陣的驟雨對於在英國生活的我應該算是習以為常，但我想正是這個原因，所以對當日的驟雨很反感… 我在家已是如此，為可在外地也這麼樣？ 不少英國人都有一個習慣，除非雨下的很大，否則很少使用雨傘，我也不例外。所以面向驟雨，把風衣的罩帽戴上，向皇宮出發！
Living
in England, I should be used to drizzles and showers, perhaps that’s why I
groaned at the shower that day… haven’t I had enough of this at home? Unless it’s raining cats and dogs, many
Britons would just brave the rain instead of using an umbrella, I’m no
exception. So I put on my jacket and its
hood, Topkapi Palace, here I come!
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| 帝王之門, 皇宮的其中一個入口 / The Imperial Gate, one of the entrances to the palace |
花了大約十分鐘走到皇宮的售票處，已經有不少人在排隊買票。因為七十二小時博物館通用票，所以我可以直接由閘口進入皇宮，省下了不少時間。
It took
roughly 10 minutes to walk to the palace, there were already many people
queuing for tickets. Because of the
Museum Pass I bought in Hagia Sophia, I went straight to the gate, saving me
from the hassle of queuing.
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| 售票處外的崇敬門，由此門進入第二庭院 / The Gate of Salutation, entrance to second courtyard, next to ticket office |
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| 皇宮的模型 / A model of the palace |
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很擠擁的吉兆之門，第三庭園的入口 / The Gate of Felicity, the entrance to third courtyard, very crowded
|
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| 帝國議會議事廳 / The Imperial Council |
重覆「倫敦塔」的經歷 / A “Tower of London” déjà vu
我很小的時候曾經去過倫敦塔，參觀英國的皇室珠寶，那並不是一個愉快的紀憶。因為當時人又多又擠，大家排成一隊，人推人，展覽廳又暗又細 ，還有就是不能拍照。結果每人擠到展品前只有數秒時間「欣賞」，就被後面的人擠向前方。
Once, I visited the Tower of London when I was a child, to see the Crown
jewels, and it wasn’t a nice memory. It
was dark and crowded; everyone was in a single file pushing against each other. When finally got to the exhibits, everyone
had only a few seconds before being pushed forward again. Of course, no photo was allowed.
當時完全不知道我究竟看了什麼，亦享受不到一點的樂趣，長大了後知道這就是所謂的「走馬看花」。想不到事隔多年，在伊斯坦堡再經歷了一次…
I had neither a clue what I saw, nor any fun during the time I was
there. I had no idea I was going to have
a repeat of this experience whilst I was in Istanbul…
進入到第三庭院，覺得人群已經不少，所以想在人群多起來前去參觀皇宮的珍藏。結果，重覆了倫敦塔的「惡夢」… 事真上當日在那裹看了什麼，已經不太記得，但對一把在手柄上有三顆大綠寶石的匕首有很深的印像，因為在皇宮的紀念品店見到有精美的複製品出售。在接下來的穆斯林宗教品展廳也一樣，再來一遍「倫敦塔」…
By the time I entered the third courtyard, there were quite many
tourists there already, so I decided to enter the treasury before more tourists
arrived, unbeknown to me, it was a déjà vu of my Tower of London experience… In
fact, I have very little recollection of what I saw that day, apart from the
Topkapi dagger, a dagger with 3 large emeralds on its handle. It’s because I saw a beautiful actual sized
replica being sold in the palace souvenir shop.
Sadly, it’s “Tower of London” all over again in the Islamic Relic
exhibition hall…
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| 寶庫的入口，很多人 / The entrance of the treasury, very crowded |
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托卡比匕首 (來源：谷歌圖片)/ Topkapi dagger (Source: Goggle image)
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| 穆斯林宗教品展廳，外牆的磁磚真是很美 / The Muslim Relic exhibition hall, I really like the beautiful blue tiles |
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第三庭院隨影 / Some photos from third courtyard
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| 穆罕默德三世圖書館 / Library of Ahmed III |
漂亮的第四庭院 / The beautiful Forth Courtyard
第四庭院包含一些亭樓、宮殿、花園等，原本是第三庭院的一部分，近代的學者將它區分出來。(來源： 維基百科)
The forth courtyard consists of a number of pavilions, kiosks, gardens
and terraces. It was originally a part
of the third courtyard but recent scholars have identified it as more separate
to better distinguish it. (Source: Wikipedia)
剛剛進入第四庭院時，它給我一種和中國式庭園的「一步一景」有一些相似的感覺，但後來轉了數圈都只是藍色磁磚和對海峽的風景，和我剛形成的印像相差不少，亦增加了幾分失望…
The fourth courtyard initially gave me a similar impression to Chinese
courtyard’s “one step, one scenery (a different scenery with each step you
take)” effect. After walked through the
courtyard, what caught my eyes were mostly beautiful blue tiles and the view of
Golden Horn and Bosphorus. I was rather
disappointed it didn’t quite match my initial impression of this place…
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具有水池的上層陽台、開齋亭及巴格達宮 / Upper terrace with fountain, İftar bower and Baghdad Kiosk
|
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由陽台望向金角灣 / Looking out the Golden Horn from upper terrace
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巴格達宮內部 / Inside Baghdad Kiosk
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| 割禮殿，那是一個夏宮，作為年輕王子進行割禮之用，割禮是伊斯蘭傳統的通過儀禮 (來源： 維基百科)，藍色的磁磚實在太美了，真想帶回家！ / Circumcision Room, a summer kiosk dedicated to the circumcision of young princes, which is a religious tradition in Islam for cleanliness and purity (Source: Wikipedia), the blue tiles look so good, I so wanted to bring them home! |
大失所望的禁宮 / The disappointed Harem
後宮是蘇丹私人寓所的一部分，它也是蘇丹的母后（蘇丹皇太后）、妾、家人及侍從的家園。除了蘇丹、太后、妃妾、王子外，其他人禁止擅進後宮。
Harem was part of the Sultan’s private apartments, and it was also home
to the sultan's mother, the Valide Sultan; the concubines and wives of the
sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants.
There was no trespassing beyond the gates of the harem, except for the
sultan, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts and favourites, the princes and
the concubines as well as the eunuchs guarding the harem.
一部份禁宮，包括在「博物館之迷」中曾經出現的蘇丹浴室，因為維護和維修的原因而關閉。其他的是蘇丹的起居室，需要很多的想像力在腦海中重現禁宮的昔日光輝。在經過整個早上的行行走走之後，我實在沒有精力去想像，或今早想的去探索皇宮，只想坐下來休息一下，結果在怱怱看完之後就去了吃午飯…
Part of the Harem was closed for restoration/maintenance including the
bathroom briefly featured in “Museum Secrets”.
The rests were living quarters of the Sultan and it required a lot of
imagination to recreate the image of how Sultan used to live. After a morning of walking and queuing, I
just wasn’t in the mood of doing that, never mind exploring the Palace, I
walked through it rather quickly and went for a rest and had some lunch…
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禁宮的入口 / The entrance of Harem
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| The Common gate and Sultanate Gate |
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| 漂亮的藍綠色磁磚 / The beautiful blue and green tiles |
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穆拉德三世私人宮殿,兩層高的水池 / The fountain of the Privy Chamber of Murat III
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| 穆拉德三世私人宮殿 / Privy Chamber of Murat III |
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在雙子宮外留影 / Me outside of the Twin Kiosk
|
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| 寵妃庭院 / The Courtyard of the Favourites |
