I visited Istanbul as a tourist three times before I moved here, and during those visits, I saw almost all of the major tourist attractions.
Sure, I hadn’t gone to the islands. But otherwise, I’d done everything.
Except for one very important oversight: I had never gone to the harem at Topkapi Palace.
I had a good reason. It’s possibly the most expensive attraction in Sultanahmet, at 40tl for the palace and the harem. Seeing the palace alone is 25tl—still expensive, but not quite as ridiculous. As a budgeting backpacker way back in 2008, I figured I could skip
