I LOVE Topkapı Palace, it's gorgeous. Have you been?
I had an amazing tour guide who, among many other things, explained how everything had two layers of security (at least) built in. For instance, eunuchs in the Harem were always black just in case the castration was botched - that way, you could still tell the child was not the Sultan's. A bit more here: http://jmilton6000.wordpress.com/2006/11/23/the-harem-and-th...
I had an amazing tour guide who, among many other things, explained how everything had two layers of security (at least) built in. For instance, eunuchs in the Harem were always black just in case the castration was botched - that way, you could still tell the child was not the Sultan's. A bit more here: http://jmilton6000.wordpress.com/2006/11/23/the-harem-and-th...
Talk about redundancy.