Topkapı Palace Museum - Harem, Turkey's tourist paradise, Istanbul. (4k-60fps)

02:58 Concubines rooms
04:51 pipe-room
05:29 concubines bath
08:38 curtain gate
09:11 mosque of black eunuchs
10:01 rooms of black eunuchs
10:15 black eunuchs' gizzard
11:17 concubines corridor
12:40 Apartments of the Queen Mother
13:46 Baths of the Sultan and the Queen Mother
15:08 sultan's bath
15:52 Imperial Hall
17:18 Privy Chamber of Murat III
18:57 Courtyard of the Favorites
19:32 Golden Road
20:14 Aviary / Harem Gate

The Imperial Harem (Harem-i Hümayûn) occupied one of the sections of the private apartments of the sultan; it contained more than 400 rooms. The harem was 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. The harem consists of a series of buildings and structures, connected through hallways and courtyards. Every service team and hierarchical group residing in the harem had its own living space clustered around a courtyard. The number of rooms is not determined, with probably over 100, of which only a few are open to the public. These apartments (Daires) were occupied respectively by the harem eunuchs, the Chief Harem Eunuch , the concubines, the queen mother, the sultan's consorts, the princes and the favourites. 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.

The Hall of the Ablution Fountain, also known as "Sofa with Fountain" , was renovated after the Harem fire of 1666. This second great fire took place on 24 July 1665. This space was an entrance hall into the harem, guarded by the harem eunuchs. The Büyük Biniş and the Şal Kapısı, which connected the Harem, the Privy Garden, the Mosque of the Harem Eunuchs and the Tower of Justice from where the sultan watched the deliberations of the Imperial Council, led to this place. The walls are revetted with 17th-century Kütahya tiles.

Another door leads to the Courtyard of the (Black) Eunuchs , with their apartments on the left side. At the end of the court is the apartment of the black chief eunuch , the fourth high-ranking official in the official protocol. In between is the school for the imperial princes, with precious tiles from the 17th and 18th centuries and gilded wainscoting. At the end of the court is the main gate to the harem . The narrow corridor on the left side leads to the apartments of the odalisques (white slaves given as a gift to the sultan).

The Courtyard of the Sultan's Consorts and the Concubineswas constructed at the same time as the courtyard of the eunuchs in the middle of the 16th century. It underwent restoration after the 1665 fire and is the smallest courtyard of the Harem.

The Apartments of the Queen Mother, together with the apartments of the sultan, form the largest and most important section in the harem. It was constructed after the Queen Mother moved into the Topkapı Palace in the late 16th century from the Old Palace , but had to be rebuilt after the fire of 1665 between 1666 and 1668.Some rooms, such as the small music room, have been added to this section in the 18th century. Only two of these rooms are open to the public: the dining room with, in the upper gallery, the reception room and her bedroom with, behind a lattice work, a small room for prayer.

The next rooms are the Baths of the Sultan and the Queen Mother . This double bath dates from the late 16th century and consists of multiple rooms. It was redecorated in the rococo style in the middle of the 18th century. Both baths present the same design, consisting of a caldarium, a tepidarium and a frigidarium.

The Imperial Hall , also known as the Imperial Sofa, Throne Room Within or Hall of Diversions, is a domed hall in the Harem, believed to have been built in the late 16th century. It has the largest dome in the palace.

The Privy Chamber of Murat III is the oldest and finest surviving room in the harem, having retained its original interior. It was a design of the master architect Sinan and dates from the 16th century. Its dome is only slightly smaller than that of the Throne Room. Its hall has one of the finest doors of the palace and leads past the wing of the crown princes. The room is decorated with blue-and-white and coral-red İznik tiles.

The Golden Road is a narrow passage that forms the axis of the Harem, dating from the 15th century.

Until the late 19th century, there had been a small inner court in this corner of the Enderûn Courtyard. This court led through the Kuşhane Gate into the harem. Today this is the gate from which the visitors exit from the Harem. Birds were raised for the sultan's table in the buildings around the gate.