Istanbul: I Went To A Harem.

"And you didn't stay?"

That was what a former co-worker wrote when I announced on Facebook that I had visited the Harem section in the Topkapi Palace.

Ha!

Obviously it is no longer in use.

The Topkapi Palace was huge. Vast. A gorgeous with tiles. And that beauty extended very much to the section of the palace where the Harem lived.

Tile work and gold...

Running along the apartments for the women.

Even inside, the embellishments were on the walls and ceilings...

So many beautiful domes with a breath of light peeking in...

My favorite one...

Again with the red and gold... So perfect.

And a bedroom...

Imagine entertaining there! Gold painted beds. Two of them! And a gorgeous fireplace!

And trimmed framework for the windows...

But also some stained glass...

I would not have been a good woman in a harem. But I am jealous of the accommodations they appear to have had!