Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

1991 · 1 season · 7 eps · Documentary

Returning Series

The Ottoman Dynasty extended over three continents, surviving 600 years from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century. 24 of its 36 Sultans ruled the Empire from Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, for a period of 400 years. The royal residence, which has witnessed moments of great joy and sorrow, became a museum after the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 by Kemal Ataturk. Until it opened its doors to visitors from all over the world, the Topkapi Palace had always been a mysterious, shuttered world. The "Topkapi Palace" series represents the widest-ranging project of its kind ever to be taken. It was in 1990 that all the doors of the Topkapi Palace were opened to a film crew for the first time. Their lights probed parts of the palace still closed to visitors and, indeed, into places that had never seen the daylight.

Directed by Suha Arın

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Cast

Sehnaz Arin Narrator
Granville Van Dusen Narrator

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The documentary explores one of Istanbul’s most significant art monuments, tracing nearly 700 years of cultural and artistic history through the mosaics and frescoes of the Kariye Mosque (Chora Church). By combining visual analysis with a distinctive soundscape—from Byzantine hymns and Orthodox prayers to the Islamic call to prayer and Ottoman takbirs—the documentary emphasizes Istanbul’s layered cultural continuity and enduring intercultural dialogue.

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When the Fog Is Swept Away · 1986

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Fatma of the Forest · 1979

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40.000 Steps in the Grand Bazaar · 1980

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MovieDocumentary

This documentary presents the past and present of Istanbul’s famed Grand Bazaar, whose history spans nearly five centuries. The film offers an intimate portrait of the bazaar through the perspective of a sherbet seller who has walked its streets for forty years, capturing the rhythms of daily life and the continuity of tradition within one of the city’s most enduring cultural spaces.

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The Topkapi Palace · 1991

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MovieDocumentaryHistory

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