Plaatsvinden

Topkapi Palace is a fascinating sultan’s palace turned museum, located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Administered by the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Topkapi Palace website offers adequate information for any tourist planning a visit, as well as a respectable virtual tour for those whose travel plans may never include Istanbul.

Topkapi Palace was constructed in 1478 and was the official residence of various Ottoman sultans for the next 380 years. The Palace also served as the center of state administration during this period of time. In the mid-1800s, Topkapi Palace began a new life as a museum. A parade of local citizens and foreign travelers came to marvel at the intricate construction, to peer inside the forbidden harems and to admire the vast collection of well-preserved antiques.

When you first load the website, you’ll probably notice right away that it is presented in Turkish. For those whose Turkish is a little rusty, there’s a handy “English” link prominently displayed in the upper left. Navigational choices are shown across the top and bottom of the webpage, including links to history, general information, transportation, sections, virtual tour, photo gallery and contact.

The history section relates the story of how the palace came to be and its significance. There’s much to learn here, although the translation is a little rough. My favorite mis-translations are instances where “antiques” are referred to as “antics.” The “general information” area provides the essentials on opening and closing times (the palace is open every day except Tuesdays and the first day of each religious festival) and admission prices (there are free days throughout the year).

The “Transportation” page gives directions that should allow most travelers to successfully locate the Palace from several standard locations around Istanbul.

The area of the website entitled “Sections” provides a map and detailed information about various parts of the palace, which currently covers more than 80,000 square meters. There is the main portion of the palace itself, along with a dizzying array of harems.

Perhaps the real jewel of this palace website is the Virtual Tour. This page lists a complete selection of locations on the left. When a palace location is chosen, a photo loads on the right. But it’s much more than a standard photo–it’s a 360-degree virtual view that you can rotate with your mouse to your heart’s content, exploring all angles of that particular place.

The Photo Gallery displays a selection of photos including towers, courtyards, pavilions and doorways to various harems. One heads-up on the gallery–the navigation links are in Turkish. But trust the arrows, they’ll point you in the right direction.

Overall, the Topkapi Palace website provides all the information you’ll need to plan a visit to this important cultural location. And if you can’t visit, take a whirl through the virtual tour and you may be able to implant some virtual memories that are almost as good as the real thing.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 4.5/5