Topkapi Palace

I’ve been really looking forward to this visit and thought it would be a highlight however the palace didn’t really live to its expectations.

There are many interesting parts with beautiful intricate designs. However many parts are closed for renovations at the moment. They also charge extra for Harem. Luckily we had Museum pass as I don’t think it’s worth another 40TL. I hired also audio guide for 70TL (the same price as entrance to the main museum) however commentary was very poor and didn’t really tell you much more than was written on the billboards. If you are an English speaker - it’s probably not worth it.

I guess the place gets very busy in the summer. We visited it in Monday when many other museums in town are closed.

Visitors need to be aware of some critical things. You pay 320 pp Lira to get in and on offer is a free audio guide. A few yards up the walkway there is a queue to get this guide. We queued, slowly, for almost an hour in the sun get this guide to find that to get it you had to provide a key document as a deposit such as a passport, or driving licence, or $100US or E100 Euros. We did not have any of these, nor sufficient TKL to obtain the guide. We queued all that time for nothing. Why could they not put these requirements upfront, by the engry ticket machines, so you could not if you met the criteria or not? Morons to say the least. It left us furious.
We went inside, and yes, it is something to see and learn about, but for one thing the Harem was extra to get in, and secondly, the queues everwhere were truly horrific, and having queued for no benefit to get the guide we were worn out already.
If you go to this place take a key document or a wad of dollars or Euros, and go in the morning to avoid the hordes.
They do not limit the numbers of people entering the site; they are on a money spinner here there is no doubt.

Lots of my family had visited topkapi palace before and had insisted that it was not to be missed. So my husband and I along with our two teenagers made sure to go. The teenagers got discounted tickets of TL 20 each after showing their passports. After that we hired a guide instead of hiring audio guides as it was the same price overall and I’m so glad we did this. Our guide (Fawad) was very very knowledgeable and made our trip so enjoyable. We ended up spending 5.5 hours there (3 with the guide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Amazing place with so much history and many Muslim religious artefacts.

I visited Topkapi palace during my second visit to Turkey in the end of December 2019 and was baffled to see so much crowd to see so little. I went to Dolmabahce palace during my first visit to Turkey in October and was astonished by the marvel of the palace. The "richness" of Dolmabahce was something I had never seen before. I was expecting the same thing with Topkapi palace but was mostly disappointed.

First of all, it was much more crowded than Dolmabahce. I guess the same reasoning of Blue Mosque/Suleymaniye mosque comes into picture here. Just like Suleymaniye mosque, even being much more beautiful than blue mosque, is never crowded, Dolmabahce is also not as crowded as Topkapi because both Topkapi and blue mosque are in Sultanahmet area.

There was also a lot of restoration going on when I visited and many parts of the palace were closed down for general public. Even the parts that I visited did not scream "royal". The architecture is very average and you simply cannot imagine that a royal family, the size and grandeur of Ottomans lived here once. There are many forts in my home country of India which are much better than this palace.

Overall, I was mostly disappointed with my visit here and if I have to recommend, I would highly advise tourists to go to Dolmabahce palace is you are pressed on time and just want to see one palace.

This massive Palace system actually has several interesting sights to visit and we could have spent another 2-3 hours just wandering around the grounds.
Like with everything in the old city, there's layers upon layers of history here and it's a little mind blowing. I'd recommend getting the audio tour so things make a little more sense but be ready to hand over a cash deposit, a drivers license or your passport as a deposit for the FREE audio guide that is only included if you chose the ticket option with the FREE audio guide. There were some colourful conversations between surprised visitors and the attendants at the FREE audio guide shack.
That aside, allow plenty of time to see your fill of beautiful titled throne rooms, the Harem, religious relics and the stunning views from nearly every vantage point. They were stopping visitors from entering 2 hours before the closing time with the explanation that they'd not have enough time to see most things.
There were substantial lines for a couple of the sections - summer holidays or is Istanbul always this busy? - so be prepared to stand around and wait.
Despite those lines, we managed to see everything we wanted and a good bit more!

Situated in a large enclosed area next to the Bosphorus, the palace is made up of a number of separate sections, each with a different feature and attraction. The garden areas are extensive and the many buildings in each, house numerous interesting places. We were met by some lovely ceremonial horses on the way in, a nice touch, and the variety of mini museums within were all fascinating. Our favourite was the religious artefact rooms which apparently hold the hat of Moses, the famous bejewelled dagger and the robe of David. It was quite small inside, so expect to wait in line for a view, but everything was interesting. There is also a section with ornamental armaments - e.g. guns, knifes, swords, suits of armour etc., the detail on which was amazing. You can even enter the old cooking quarters where the chefs cooked for thousands at a time, and the final section overlooking the grounds and Bosphorous were a great panoramic view. You could easily spend a few hours here and there is a reasonably priced cafe on site if you wish a quick bite to eat of hot drink. Well worth a visit.

We visited Topkapi palace on our 3 day visit to Istanbul . We were expecting huge lineups but may be March is a off season so we were able to purchase tickets from kiosk . We decided to not buy Museum Pass because the only other museum we wanted to see was Hagia Sophia . Palace was ok ok with some similar kind of looking rooms . It was a good glimpse into history but was quite repetitive. The watch collection was a must see. We decided to not see Harem since it was quite expensive with 70TL just to see Harem.
If you are on a budget and time crunch it is a place which can be skipped as there is so much more to see and do in Istanbul.

It’s very large and there’s a lot to see, in terms of like artifacts such as weapons, cutlery and crockery and other items that the ottomans used in their daily lives and during special occasions. It’s not as beautiful as the Dolomabacye Palace, but there’s a lot of interesting things to see and read about because the audio guide here is at a separate charge. The view of the Bosporus river from here is truly magnificent. It costs about 75TL I think it’s something to definitely see but not the most essential should your budget not be able to accommodate it.

Some persons from a certain Middle Eastern country ( and, no I am not prejudiced against anyone ) with exceedingly bad manners, just, with their entire Family, go straight to the front of the line, in front of everyone. So I stood in line for 1 and a half hours because of this. There should be someone regulating the line.
The outside and the stunning, magnificent artifacts displayed on the inside were historical and beautiful. The Ottoman Heritage is unbelievably majestic and vast. BUT, you can not pause for 2 seconds to admire any object : one is hustled in ,through the rooms, and out at top speed. You do not, even, have time to read the plaques which explain the objet in question. So I bought the Topkapi Art book ( the museum shop is excellent ) but that is not the same.
I visit, only, museum cities and was born in one: this is was my most rapid visit.
You need 2 -3 hours to , really, to take in all of this beauty and history.

Go early. Go early. Go early. You have to go through security/metal detectors first then head to the ticket office, which is within the palace grounds. The entrance next to the Archaeological Museum is much less crowded as compared to the main gate (that is behind Hagia Sophia). Paying the extra fees for entrance into the Harem is absolutely worth it as some of the most ornate rooms and tiles are in this section. Head there first then check out the four courtyards. Bring your passport (or 100 USD or EUR) to leave as a deposit to get the free audio guide. I arrived at 8:45 am and was the first one in line when the ticket office opened at 9 am. I was done seeing everything and out by 11:30 am, going the opposite direction from the throngs of tour groups entering.