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(contemplative orchestral music)
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- [Narrator] Istanbul, a
city of masks and bazaars,
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and at its heart, a museum
with secrets, dark and strange.
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Engines of destruction,
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(cannon booms)
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(stone crashing)
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ancient high technology, a deadly dinner,
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and a madman in the harem, secrets hidden
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in plain sight inside the
Topkapi Palace Museum.
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(contemplative orchestral music)
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(static crackling)
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(contemplative orchestral music)
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At the nexus of Europe and Asia,
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Istanbul is the gateway
to the Middle East.
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(man chanting in foreign language)
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On a hill overlooking the city
stands a magnificent museum
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visited by two million people every year.
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They come to marvel at opulent treasures
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in what was once a sultan's
palace named Topkapi.
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In Arabic, Topkapi means cannon door.
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How and why Topkapi Palace came to be here
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is our first museum secret.
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The story begins with a
Muslim sultan named Mehmed II.
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His weapons can be seen
in the gallery of armor.
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- This object is one of
the most beautiful examples
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of the classical Turkish sword design.
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If you see, it has a little curve.
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This sword tells us that
he was a warrior king.
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(reflective orchestral music)
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- [Narrator] In 1453, at the age of 23,
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Mehmed commanded a vast
Islamic Ottoman Empire,
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but at its center, where
Istanbul stands today,
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was the Christian city of Constantinople,
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the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire.
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Its location on the
Bosphorus Strait gave it
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control of trade between
Europe and the East.
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And over a thousand years,
its surrounding walls
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had thwarted 23 would-be invaders.
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- The walls of Constantinople
were absolutely extraordinary.
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There was nothing like
them in the medieval world.
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Here we are standing on
the great city walls,
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land-walls, of Constantinople,
on one of the towers.
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And we're looking down the line
of walls that run to the sea
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on one side and into a
small bay on the other.
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(dramatic orchestral music)
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- [Narrator] The bay is
called the Golden Horn,
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and in times of war, a
great chain was stretched
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across it to keep out enemy ships.
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- The Byzantines were used to sieges,
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and they were expert at
defending their city.
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- [Narrator] Constantine XI was
the 101st Byzantine emperor.
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He warned his Christian subjects
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that should the Muslims
ever conquer the city,
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they would brutalize survivors
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and force them to convert to Islam,
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assuring them of eternal damnation.
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Constantine was determined
not to let that happen.
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Mehmed arrived on April 6th, 1453,
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with an army of more than
80,000 men and 320 ships.
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He was confident he could conquer the city
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that had withstood so
many previous attacks,
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but his men discovered that there was
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more to Constantinople's
walls than met the eye.
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(soldiers shouting)
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Attackers had to ford a moat and cross
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a 20-meter terrace to reach the wall.
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As they battered or tried to climb it,
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they would be showered with arrows.
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Those who made it over would
discover a second inner wall,
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higher and more formidable than the first.
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- They would be met with a hale of fire,
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javelins, Greek fire, bolts, rocks.
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It was an absolute killing field for them.
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- [Narrator] The traditional
tactic of climbing
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and breaching walls was proving futile,
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but Mehmed had come prepared
with new and powerful weapons.
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- So what he brought in terms
of military technology here
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is obviously the cannons.
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The largest cannon he had is called Shahi,
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the grand or the royal cannon.
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It was throwing cannonballs
of 600 kilograms.
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- [Narrator] This monster
cannon's barrel was
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20 centimeters thick and
close to 10 meters long,
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made of solid bronze.
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(explosions booming)
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Its cannonballs could travel
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over a kilometer to reach their targets.
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(fuse hissing)
(cannons booming)
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Its blast was deafening.
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Even Constantinople's thick walls
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could not withstand a direct hit.
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- Although initially the wall was ruined,
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the Byzantines quickly developed
a very successful defense,
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which was to replace the
stone with earth rampart.
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The effect of this was to absorb
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the impact of the cannonballs.
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It was rather like
throwing a stone into mud.
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And this made it perhaps
a little bit dispiriting
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to the Ottoman troops who,
as quickly as they demolished
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a section of wall, saw it being replaced
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with something which still
worked reasonably well.
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- [Narrator] Thousands of
Mehmed's troops continued to die
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as they advanced on the
walls, hoping the cannons
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would finally give them
the advantage they needed.
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(soldiers shouting)
(explosions booming)
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Day after day, the assaults
became stronger and louder.
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- When the Turks attacked,
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one of their psychological
weapons was noise,
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a wall of noise moving towards the city.
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(soldiers shouting)
(explosions booming)
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- [Narrator] The cannon blasts
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shook ships and rattled bones.
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They were joined by the strange sounds
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of Ottoman battle cries
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and the high-pitched
whine of Ottoman horns.
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(upbeat horn and percussion music)
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- This would have come
from their Janissary band,
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drums, trumpets, cymbals.
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It would have been an
awe-inspiring sound you encounter,
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and certainly drained the
blood out the defenders.
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(dramatic orchestral music)
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- [Narrator] Though the
Byzantines were tiring,
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their great walls stood
firm, but the defenders
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would soon discover that Mehmed
had another card to play.
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- On the morning of the
21st of April, 1453,
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it was a Sunday, they
were going to church.
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They look casually over the
seawalls into the Golden Horn,
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and they saw, to their horror,
the ships rolling one by one
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into the water behind the chain.
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- [Narrator] To outflank
the naval defenses
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of Constantinople, Mehmed slid his ships
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down the hill on greased planks and logs.
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(wood creaking)
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- And it was a moment of panic
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and sheer amazement at
what Mehmed had done.
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(bells tolling)
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- [Narrator] Mehmed knew his bold maneuver
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would strike a psychological blow.
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- He was very well informed
about the way that they thought,
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and he realized that the morale
of the people was probably
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a crucial factor in the way
that this was going to play out.
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- [Narrator] Weeks passed.
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(insects chirping)
(reflective synth music)
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On the 53rd night of the
siege, as the moon was waning,
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a partial eclipse turned it blood-red.
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Inside the city, Constantine's
subjects panicked.
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- And this struck them with absolute fear.
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It seemed to be possibly a symbol.
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A crescent moon seemed to be possibly
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a symbol of the Ottoman Empire.
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(mysterious synth music)
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- [Narrator] Suspecting the
eclipse might demoralize
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the defenders, Mehmed
ordered an all-out attack.
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(soldiers shouting)
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- He marched his men forward in waves
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in a kamikaze attack to take the city.
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(metal banging)
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- [Narrator] Constantine and his best men
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were there to meet them.
(soldiers shouting)
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- And he locked the gate behind him
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and hung the key around his neck,
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so they would do or die
with their back to the wall.
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- [Narrator] Constantine's
courageous maneuver
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would prove futile.
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- One man, known to history as Hassan,
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managed to plant the flag
of Islam on the battlement,
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and it put heart into the Ottoman troops.
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(doors bang)
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They swam forward and
they just simply overwhelm
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the exhausted Byzantine defense.
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- [Narrator] The walls that
had protected Constantinople
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for a thousand years had
finally been breached
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by the superior forces and tactics
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of the young sultan named Mehmed.
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- And it's at the moment that he passes
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through this gateway that
he takes on the title
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by which he's known to the
Turks as the Conqueror.
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- [Narrator] Mehmed converted
the city's largest cathedral
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into a mosque.
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It seemed that Constantine's
worst fear was coming true,
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but if he'd lived to see
what Mehmed did next,
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he would have been surprised.
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The conqueror put away his sword
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and met with leaders of
all the city's religions.
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- He is the one who made the meeting
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with all the other churches and asked them
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to tell their faith to him
and promoted their faith.
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- [Narrator] Christians were allowed
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to worship their god in peace.
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- That's absolutely a legacy of Mehmed II,
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of a man who had an imperial
vision and who managed
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to keep all these people
of different worlds,
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different languages, and
religions under one power.
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- [Narrator] And in a city that has grown
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far beyond its protective walls,
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many Christians live here still.
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The cosmopolitan character
of Istanbul began
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with Mehmed's multicultural vision.
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And as for the secret of
why Topkapi Palace was built
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in this location, Mehmed needed a place
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where he could spot would-be invaders,
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and we suspect he just enjoyed the view.
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(dramatic orchestral music)
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Up next, the secret of the
oldest map of the New World.
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(dramatic choral symphony music)
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Topkapi Palace was the center
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of the sprawling Ottoman
Empire for almost 500 years.
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In the 20th century, when
it became a museum, an army
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of curators began to catalog
the treasures of the sultans.
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In a bundle of papers, one scholar
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noticed this faded document.
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It is clearly a map, but the coastlines
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are not immediately familiar.
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But to geologist Steve
Dutch, the map is a marvel.
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- It shows Europe and Africa.
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The coast of Brazil is
reasonably recognizable.
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And it's unusual in several respects.
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It's one of the fist maps that shows
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the Americas in much detail.
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- [Narrator] Initially, it was hailed
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as the long-lost map of
Christopher Columbus,
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the chart of his voyage of 1492,
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but it can't be because
the writing is in Turkish.
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The date translates as 1513, and that's
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very strange because as of 1513,
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no Arab explorer had
sailed west of Africa.
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And at the same time,
Columbus's maps were secured
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in a castle in Spain
for Spanish eyes only.
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So how does this map exist?
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And what is it doing in Topkapi Palace?
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Those are our museum secrets.
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(cannon booms)
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The story begins in 1453, as
Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror
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takes control of Constantinople
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and the sea lane just
beyond his palace door.
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(contemplative orchestral music)
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Control of the Bosphorus
Strait gave his Ottoman Empire
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a monopoly on trade with India and China,
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including unique imports
still for sale today
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in Istanbul's famous spice market.
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(people chattering)
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- The spice trade was a
one-directional trade actually.
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(speaks in foreign language)
It was a one-directional trade
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from the east towards the west.
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- [Narrator] Yusuf Civelekoglu
is the grandson of one
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of the first Topkapi historians
to see the New World map.
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- They would come on ships or
on caravans, and in Istanbul,
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they would change into vessels to Europe.
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The kind of spices which
were traded were like pepper,
250
00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:15,043
saffron, dried ginger, turmeric.
251
00:12:16,140 --> 00:12:20,930
It was a necessity for the
cold winters of Europe,
252
00:12:20,930 --> 00:12:25,542
where you had to conserve your
food for survival purposes.
253
00:12:25,542 --> 00:12:26,970
(contemplative orchestral music)
254
00:12:26,970 --> 00:12:28,380
- [Narrator] The spice trade monopoly
255
00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:32,050
made the Ottoman Empire rich,
but Europeans grew tired
256
00:12:32,050 --> 00:12:36,260
of paying the Ottoman's
sky-high prices, so some,
257
00:12:36,260 --> 00:12:40,563
like Columbus, sought a new
route to Asia by sailing west.
258
00:12:42,410 --> 00:12:44,940
- The Ottomans were interested
259
00:12:44,940 --> 00:12:48,680
in what the Europeans
were doing in the West
260
00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:52,250
because they felt that
this was competition.
261
00:12:52,250 --> 00:12:55,020
They knew that their monopoly
262
00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,200
was put into question.
263
00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,270
- [Narrator] To discover
what Columbus had found,
264
00:13:01,270 --> 00:13:04,183
the reigning sultan assigned
his admiral, Piri Reis.
265
00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:09,530
- His full name was Hadji
Piri Ahmed Muhiddin Reis.
266
00:13:09,530 --> 00:13:11,710
The Hadji means he made
the pilgrimage to Mecca.
267
00:13:11,710 --> 00:13:13,660
Piri means he was an elder.
268
00:13:13,660 --> 00:13:16,070
Ahmed Muhiddin was his given name,
269
00:13:16,070 --> 00:13:18,413
and then Reis means a
captain or a chieftain.
270
00:13:19,330 --> 00:13:21,930
- [Narrator] But Piri
Reis wasn't an explorer.
271
00:13:21,930 --> 00:13:23,415
He had a different skill.
272
00:13:23,415 --> 00:13:25,080
(both speaking in foreign language)
273
00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,580
Yusuf relies on this skill when navigating
274
00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:29,683
the difficult waters of the Bosphorus.
275
00:13:31,090 --> 00:13:33,470
He consults a copy of a map drawn
276
00:13:33,470 --> 00:13:37,020
by Admiral Piri Reis 500 years ago.
277
00:13:37,020 --> 00:13:41,610
- Here is a tower which
is still to be seen,
278
00:13:41,610 --> 00:13:45,430
and you have here the
Bosphorus going further north.
279
00:13:45,430 --> 00:13:49,160
A modern map of Istanbul would be
280
00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:50,818
not very different from this.
281
00:13:50,818 --> 00:13:52,250
(contemplative orchestral music)
282
00:13:52,250 --> 00:13:55,450
Today, the sea lane is crowded
with ships from many lands,
283
00:13:55,450 --> 00:13:57,653
just as it was in the time of Piri Reis.
284
00:13:59,740 --> 00:14:01,850
As an Ottoman admiral, he could order
285
00:14:01,850 --> 00:14:03,690
the seizure of any ship in the harbor
286
00:14:03,690 --> 00:14:06,800
to search for charts and
interrogate the crew.
287
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:11,800
- This could be one of the
Venetian traders in Istanbul,
288
00:14:12,150 --> 00:14:13,693
who brought with him a chart.
289
00:14:14,900 --> 00:14:19,900
When any ship was seized,
one of the main objectives
290
00:14:20,290 --> 00:14:23,230
was to go immediately to the bridge
291
00:14:23,230 --> 00:14:25,409
before the charts are destroyed.
292
00:14:25,409 --> 00:14:27,100
(quill scratching)
293
00:14:27,100 --> 00:14:28,130
- [Narrator] From these sources,
294
00:14:28,130 --> 00:14:32,230
Piri Reis pieced together
New World coastlines,
295
00:14:32,230 --> 00:14:34,350
and he drew some of the
creatures and monsters
296
00:14:34,350 --> 00:14:36,036
that sailors claimed they saw.
297
00:14:36,036 --> 00:14:38,000
(creatures growling)
298
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,550
But there were large regions missing.
299
00:14:40,550 --> 00:14:42,510
Piri Reis couldn't complete the map
300
00:14:42,510 --> 00:14:45,170
without learning what
Columbus had discovered.
301
00:14:45,170 --> 00:14:49,707
- One of his sources is a Spanish slave
302
00:14:52,490 --> 00:14:56,010
who has been with Columbus several times
303
00:14:56,010 --> 00:14:59,090
on the voyages to the Americas
304
00:14:59,090 --> 00:15:03,337
and who has described these
coastlines for Piri Reis.
305
00:15:03,337 --> 00:15:04,710
(water lapping)
306
00:15:04,710 --> 00:15:06,210
- [Narrator] This inside information
307
00:15:06,210 --> 00:15:08,370
was just what Piri Reis needed,
308
00:15:08,370 --> 00:15:10,720
and it makes his map our closest link
309
00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,200
to the long lost map of
Christopher Columbus.
310
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,320
- It manages to achieve a
really remarkable degree
311
00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,970
of internal consistency,
and I describe this
312
00:15:18,970 --> 00:15:22,130
as a first-class piece
of naval intelligence.
313
00:15:22,130 --> 00:15:24,940
- [Narrator] When Piri Reis
presented his map to the sultan,
314
00:15:24,940 --> 00:15:26,530
the Ottoman ruler was surprised
315
00:15:26,530 --> 00:15:29,640
by the existence of
new lands and delighted
316
00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:31,930
that the western edge
stopped short of revealing
317
00:15:31,930 --> 00:15:34,773
a new trade route to the
spice-rich lands of Asia.
318
00:15:36,550 --> 00:15:40,120
- This map was considered
extremely valuable also
319
00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,630
by the strategists of the
empire, by the sultan himself.
320
00:15:44,630 --> 00:15:46,003
He must have been excited.
321
00:15:47,170 --> 00:15:49,060
- [Narrator] It meant
that for a while at least,
322
00:15:49,060 --> 00:15:51,760
the sultan could keep
his Asian spice monopoly,
323
00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,240
and thanks to an able admiral,
the Ottomans had learned
324
00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,633
the outlines of the New
World without leaving home.
325
00:16:02,310 --> 00:16:04,110
Next on Museum Secrets,
326
00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:07,750
a Turkish delight
becomes a deadly dessert.
327
00:16:07,750 --> 00:16:11,833
(dramatic choral symphony music)
328
00:16:12,850 --> 00:16:15,920
Topkapi Palace Museum
is peaceful at night,
329
00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:17,340
but when the sultans lived here,
330
00:16:17,340 --> 00:16:20,090
it's likely they had trouble sleeping.
331
00:16:20,090 --> 00:16:22,970
- Being a very elevated
person in that period
332
00:16:22,970 --> 00:16:27,640
would have been a struggle
and quite frightening.
333
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:31,090
There would always be people
who were out to get you.
334
00:16:31,090 --> 00:16:33,840
- [Narrator] A traitorous
vizier, a jealous wife,
335
00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,730
or an ambitious son, many had
a motive to murder a sultan.
336
00:16:38,730 --> 00:16:42,673
And during the Ottoman Empire,
10 murderers succeeded.
337
00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:47,650
Jason Goodwin thinks about
palace murderers quite a lot
338
00:16:47,650 --> 00:16:50,840
because he sets his novels
right here in Topkapi
339
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:52,600
in a continuing series featuring
340
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,817
a Turkish detective named Yashim.
341
00:16:56,540 --> 00:16:59,200
Today, he's here to find a museum secret,
342
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,390
the best way to kill a sultan,
343
00:17:01,390 --> 00:17:04,570
for research purposes only
of course, and he thinks
344
00:17:04,570 --> 00:17:07,863
the sultan's bathroom might
be a good place to start.
345
00:17:09,050 --> 00:17:10,970
- Perhaps there, he's
at his most vulnerable.
346
00:17:10,970 --> 00:17:14,130
So even the heart of his
own palace, he can never be
347
00:17:14,130 --> 00:17:17,130
quite, quite free of his
kind of night terrors.
348
00:17:17,130 --> 00:17:19,750
- [Narrator] But his guide,
curator Ganan Gimeli,
349
00:17:19,750 --> 00:17:22,496
thinks Jason is on the wrong track.
350
00:17:22,496 --> 00:17:26,200
- Sultans always used
to live in these places
351
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,623
because for security, he
always lock by himself.
352
00:17:31,490 --> 00:17:33,460
- I see, so he went...
353
00:17:33,460 --> 00:17:37,390
When he was bathing, he bathed by himself.
354
00:17:37,390 --> 00:17:38,223
- Mm-hmm.
355
00:17:38,223 --> 00:17:43,223
- And this screen like this,
so he goes inside and he shuts.
356
00:17:43,330 --> 00:17:44,163
- Yes.
357
00:17:44,163 --> 00:17:45,309
- Does like he lock himself in?
358
00:17:45,309 --> 00:17:46,142
- Uh-huh.
359
00:17:46,142 --> 00:17:48,580
(mysterious flute and synth music)
360
00:17:48,580 --> 00:17:50,360
- [Narrator] Inside his gilded cage,
361
00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,450
a sultan would be hard to kill,
362
00:17:52,450 --> 00:17:56,530
so Jason will need to think
up a new murder scheme.
363
00:17:56,530 --> 00:17:59,220
He decides to think on
a full stomach by having
364
00:17:59,220 --> 00:18:01,520
a meal at this well-known
Istanbul restaurant.
365
00:18:02,670 --> 00:18:06,063
Here the food is prepared just
as it was in Ottoman times.
366
00:18:07,780 --> 00:18:09,610
Owner Batur Durmay is determined
367
00:18:09,610 --> 00:18:11,863
that every dish should
be fit for a sultan.
368
00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:14,547
- Did you find these recipes or,
369
00:18:14,547 --> 00:18:16,750
I mean, were the search for this?
370
00:18:16,750 --> 00:18:20,130
- Actually first, we started
off with just the dish names.
371
00:18:20,130 --> 00:18:24,740
From 20 to 40 different dishes
were placed on the table,
372
00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:27,720
and a sultan would pick
up three, four, five
373
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,160
that he fancied, and he would taste them.
374
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,786
The rest would go back to
the kitchens, untouched.
375
00:18:32,786 --> 00:18:35,270
(upbeat orchestral music)
376
00:18:35,270 --> 00:18:37,130
- [Narrator] As Jason enjoys the meal,
377
00:18:37,130 --> 00:18:39,540
his author's mind is hard at work.
378
00:18:39,540 --> 00:18:41,200
He's wondering if it might be possible
379
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,013
to tamper with the sultan's food.
380
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,183
To find out, he heads to
the sultan's real kitchen.
381
00:18:50,290 --> 00:18:51,510
The sultan's meals were cooked
382
00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:53,620
in these rooms in Topkapi Palace,
383
00:18:53,620 --> 00:18:56,443
along with the meals for
the sultan's entire court.
384
00:18:57,330 --> 00:18:59,750
- There were about 5,000 people
385
00:18:59,750 --> 00:19:03,230
who needed to be fed
everyday in Topkapi Palace,
386
00:19:03,230 --> 00:19:07,040
so the kitchens were correspondingly huge.
387
00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:09,450
- [Narrator] After an
incident in the 15th century,
388
00:19:09,450 --> 00:19:12,180
when Mehmed the Conqueror
dropped dead in his chair,
389
00:19:12,180 --> 00:19:15,770
the kitchen was reorganized
to enhance security.
390
00:19:15,770 --> 00:19:19,610
- There was one kitchen
reserved entirely for production
391
00:19:19,610 --> 00:19:22,910
of food for the sultan
and only for the sultan.
392
00:19:22,910 --> 00:19:24,300
The moment it leaves the kitchen,
393
00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:27,160
it's covered in a cloth and
this cloth is tied with a ribbon
394
00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,960
so that no one can tamper
with it between the kitchen
395
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,170
and wherever he happens to be,
396
00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:32,770
which could be quite a long way.
397
00:19:34,610 --> 00:19:36,500
- [Narrator] The only chance
for tampering would be
398
00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:38,750
at the moment the food is prepared,
399
00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:40,700
and the would-be assassin
would need to choose
400
00:19:40,700 --> 00:19:42,360
poison that wouldn't change the taste
401
00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:44,123
or color of the sultan's food.
402
00:19:48,490 --> 00:19:50,080
Jason thinks he might discover
403
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,103
a possible poison in
Istanbul's spice market.
404
00:19:54,020 --> 00:19:57,330
He doesn't really expect to
find it on display, but he hopes
405
00:19:57,330 --> 00:20:00,850
one of the vendors might
have some useful information.
406
00:20:00,850 --> 00:20:03,140
- When I'm writing my detective stories,
407
00:20:03,140 --> 00:20:06,920
I'm always looking for some sort of poison
408
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,900
I can use for the murder and--
409
00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:09,930
- Poison?
- Yeah.
410
00:20:09,930 --> 00:20:10,850
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
411
00:20:10,850 --> 00:20:12,170
Can you think of anything good?
412
00:20:12,170 --> 00:20:14,063
- I have poison like this.
413
00:20:14,917 --> 00:20:16,210
Do you wanna try?
414
00:20:16,210 --> 00:20:18,354
Turkish poison, very spicy.
415
00:20:18,354 --> 00:20:19,520
(Jason laughs)
416
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:20,680
Or the burn.
417
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,210
- You just want me kinda gasping, huh?
418
00:20:22,210 --> 00:20:23,043
- Yeah.
419
00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:24,913
- You know, we were interested
420
00:20:24,913 --> 00:20:26,523
in the ancient times in the harem.
421
00:20:26,523 --> 00:20:27,356
- Yes.
422
00:20:27,356 --> 00:20:28,510
- When the women tried to kill each other
423
00:20:28,510 --> 00:20:31,094
and maybe poison each other, yeah, yeah.
424
00:20:31,094 --> 00:20:33,220
- Melissa tea we have, Melissa.
425
00:20:33,220 --> 00:20:34,172
- What is that?
426
00:20:34,172 --> 00:20:36,351
- (mumbles) Melissa.
427
00:20:36,351 --> 00:20:37,690
- Okay.
- Melissa here.
428
00:20:37,690 --> 00:20:39,990
- So this is good, if
someone is trying to get you,
429
00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:42,200
then you drink the Melissa
tea and you feel calm.
430
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:43,033
- Absolutely.
431
00:20:43,033 --> 00:20:44,440
- [Jason] Is there
anything that in old times
432
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,626
that the people would use as a poison?
433
00:20:46,626 --> 00:20:47,817
- Killing's too dangerous.
434
00:20:47,817 --> 00:20:49,050
(Jason laughs)
435
00:20:49,050 --> 00:20:51,887
I know because I don't
like this is killing.
436
00:20:51,887 --> 00:20:53,414
- [Jason] No, no, no.
437
00:20:53,414 --> 00:20:55,700
- [Narrator] Understandably,
some of the shopkeepers are
438
00:20:55,700 --> 00:20:58,190
a little shocked at Jason's questions
439
00:20:58,190 --> 00:21:00,170
or suggest options that didn't exist
440
00:21:00,170 --> 00:21:03,080
in the sultan's time,
like this roach poison.
441
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:03,913
- Okay.
442
00:21:05,780 --> 00:21:08,950
So you just sprinkle
that around you, okay.
443
00:21:08,950 --> 00:21:10,160
Yeah, you might dust the sugar
444
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,233
onto somebody's baklava maybe, yeah.
445
00:21:13,870 --> 00:21:15,620
- [Narrator] Clearly that won't work,
446
00:21:15,620 --> 00:21:18,033
but Jason isn't out of
nefarious ideas yet.
447
00:21:19,830 --> 00:21:23,310
- The women in the harem,
they had creams and powders
448
00:21:24,290 --> 00:21:26,540
things for their hair, things
to make their skin lighter
449
00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:28,483
or to make their skin softer.
450
00:21:28,483 --> 00:21:30,960
(ominous orchestral music)
451
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:32,630
- [Narrator] In their
skin whitening powder,
452
00:21:32,630 --> 00:21:35,153
the active ingredient was white arsenic.
453
00:21:38,180 --> 00:21:39,760
The arsenic would be invisible
454
00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,310
on top of this traditional
Ottoman dessert,
455
00:21:42,310 --> 00:21:46,030
and the sultan wouldn't taste
it because arsenic is sweet.
456
00:21:46,030 --> 00:21:47,800
But unfortunately for Jason,
457
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,263
the sultan's kitchen
had one more safeguard.
458
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:53,460
- There was the head taster guy.
459
00:21:53,460 --> 00:21:55,480
One of his duties was to guard
460
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,533
that no one interferes with those dishes.
461
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:01,470
- [Narrator] So if the sultan's dessert
462
00:22:01,470 --> 00:22:03,670
was laced with arsenic, the only person
463
00:22:03,670 --> 00:22:06,510
who would die would be his food-taster.
464
00:22:06,510 --> 00:22:09,713
Poison may not be the best way
to murder a sultan after all.
465
00:22:10,750 --> 00:22:13,030
- There were lots of other opportunities
466
00:22:13,030 --> 00:22:15,613
for kinda skullduggery.
467
00:22:16,910 --> 00:22:19,590
- [Narrator] In a palace
full of potential murderers,
468
00:22:19,590 --> 00:22:21,620
for even the most careful sultan,
469
00:22:21,620 --> 00:22:24,874
there was no guarantee
of getting to dessert.
470
00:22:24,874 --> 00:22:26,425
(sultan gasps)
471
00:22:26,425 --> 00:22:27,258
(contemplative orchestral music)
472
00:22:27,258 --> 00:22:30,180
Next on Museum Secrets,
rebuilding the world's
473
00:22:30,180 --> 00:22:32,633
first robots from the 13th century.
474
00:22:33,666 --> 00:22:37,749
(dramatic choral symphony music)
475
00:22:41,590 --> 00:22:44,270
Inside the Topkapi Palace, only a fraction
476
00:22:44,270 --> 00:22:46,973
of the museum's vast
collection is on display.
477
00:22:48,420 --> 00:22:50,300
Many of the most important artifacts
478
00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:54,270
are preserved in the archives,
and one is so fragile
479
00:22:54,270 --> 00:22:56,323
that it is rarely brought into the light.
480
00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,183
It dates to 1206 A.D.
481
00:23:01,510 --> 00:23:04,730
These fanciful, colorful
drawings suggest it might be
482
00:23:04,730 --> 00:23:07,421
an illustrated children's
book, but it isn't.
483
00:23:07,421 --> 00:23:08,380
(birds chirping)
484
00:23:08,380 --> 00:23:10,500
Historian Bert Hall has been studying
485
00:23:10,500 --> 00:23:12,690
the Topkapi book for decades.
486
00:23:12,690 --> 00:23:14,950
- The Book of Ingenious
Devices was written
487
00:23:14,950 --> 00:23:19,180
by Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari
early in the 13th century.
488
00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:22,420
It is a kind of encyclopedia or treatise
489
00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:25,193
that covers a number of different devices.
490
00:23:25,193 --> 00:23:28,090
(mysterious flute and drum music)
491
00:23:28,090 --> 00:23:29,120
- [Narrator] In the book's preface,
492
00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:32,370
al-Jazari claims that every
drawing is of a device he made
493
00:23:32,370 --> 00:23:34,483
to bring delight to the sultan's court.
494
00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:37,710
But many have a level of complexity
495
00:23:37,710 --> 00:23:40,273
that seems impossible in the 13th century.
496
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,100
Are they pipe dreams
497
00:23:45,100 --> 00:23:47,533
or did the ingenious devices really work?
498
00:23:49,650 --> 00:23:51,253
That is our museum secret.
499
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,780
Our investigation begins
in Europe in the Dark Ages.
500
00:23:57,780 --> 00:24:01,050
There weren't many devices
here, ingenious or otherwise.
501
00:24:01,050 --> 00:24:02,980
Most of the ancient science of the Greeks
502
00:24:02,980 --> 00:24:04,633
and Romans had been forgotten.
503
00:24:06,450 --> 00:24:08,920
But in the Islamic world, Arab scholars
504
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,503
preserved and studied ancient science.
505
00:24:13,050 --> 00:24:16,480
- At a time when Westerners
had all but forgotten about it,
506
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:21,030
the Muslims were working
towards new generations
507
00:24:21,030 --> 00:24:23,297
of evermore ingenious devices.
508
00:24:23,297 --> 00:24:24,270
(contemplative orchestral music)
509
00:24:24,270 --> 00:24:26,280
- [Narrator] Nearly all
of al-Jazari's devices
510
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,033
involve the flow of water.
511
00:24:29,030 --> 00:24:31,320
This may be because mechanized irrigation
512
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,780
is a necessity in a dry land,
513
00:24:33,780 --> 00:24:37,340
but there may also be
a spiritual dimension.
514
00:24:37,340 --> 00:24:38,700
- From the Islamic prospective,
515
00:24:38,700 --> 00:24:41,930
the Koran speaks very highly about water,
516
00:24:41,930 --> 00:24:44,640
and in particular there's a
verse that really stands out
517
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,492
and God Almighty says,
water is the source of life.
518
00:24:48,492 --> 00:24:51,230
(fountain hissing)
519
00:24:51,230 --> 00:24:54,010
- [Narrator] In al-Jazari's
devices, water is a source
520
00:24:54,010 --> 00:24:58,503
of power, but are they just
designs or do they really work?
521
00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:03,130
To find out, Bert Hall has decided
522
00:25:03,130 --> 00:25:05,455
to try to make one of his own.
523
00:25:05,455 --> 00:25:06,900
(door knocks)
524
00:25:06,900 --> 00:25:09,870
In Toronto, he enlists the
help of Chris Warrilow,
525
00:25:09,870 --> 00:25:12,440
a film and stage props-maker.
526
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,940
- [Bert] I'm amazed at all
the stuff you've got here.
527
00:25:15,940 --> 00:25:17,640
- [Chris] Why, thank you very much.
528
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,660
- Well, this is a medieval drawing
529
00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:23,300
from the work of al-Jazari.
530
00:25:23,300 --> 00:25:26,320
This is for handwashing, and the idea is
531
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,020
it's designed as a model of a servant
532
00:25:30,020 --> 00:25:33,430
that pours water over the user's hands.
533
00:25:33,430 --> 00:25:35,720
Then the water drains out,
534
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,670
and the servant offers the user a towel.
535
00:25:39,670 --> 00:25:41,340
- This the only thing
that we have to go by?
536
00:25:41,340 --> 00:25:43,310
- This is the best that we have to go by.
537
00:25:43,310 --> 00:25:45,560
There's other versions of
this, but they don't give you
538
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:47,560
any more information than this one does.
539
00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,130
- Okay, okay, oh.
540
00:25:50,130 --> 00:25:52,130
- So where do you think we go from here?
541
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,364
- (chuckles) I would say a hardware store.
542
00:25:56,364 --> 00:25:57,685
(both laughing)
543
00:25:57,685 --> 00:25:59,410
(contemplative orchestral music)
544
00:25:59,410 --> 00:26:01,000
- [Narrator] Chris is not the first to try
545
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,313
to reconstruct al-Jazari's devices.
546
00:26:04,930 --> 00:26:06,510
A few can be found in the Museum
547
00:26:06,510 --> 00:26:09,573
of the History of Science
and Technology near Topkapi.
548
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,070
Like the mechanical servant girl,
549
00:26:13,070 --> 00:26:15,603
many of these devices
feature human figures.
550
00:26:16,740 --> 00:26:18,970
- Remember, at an age before television,
551
00:26:18,970 --> 00:26:21,780
to see something that
looked like a human being
552
00:26:21,780 --> 00:26:24,430
going through motions that
looked like human motions,
553
00:26:24,430 --> 00:26:27,710
banging a drum, ringing
a bell, playing a flute,
554
00:26:27,710 --> 00:26:30,953
that sort of thing, was
quite the spectacle.
555
00:26:32,300 --> 00:26:34,450
- [Narrator] But none
of these models move.
556
00:26:39,050 --> 00:26:42,320
Chris hopes to have more
luck with his servant girl.
557
00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:44,010
But why was so much ingenuity
558
00:26:44,010 --> 00:26:46,363
devoted to simply offering a towel?
559
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,773
The answer can be found in a mosque.
560
00:26:52,347 --> 00:26:54,160
(man chanting in foreign language)
561
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,490
For the ritual that
every Muslim must perform
562
00:26:56,490 --> 00:26:59,233
before answering the call to prayer.
563
00:26:59,233 --> 00:27:01,990
(water splashing)
564
00:27:01,990 --> 00:27:04,330
- We have to make ablution
and the specific method
565
00:27:04,330 --> 00:27:07,060
of washing through the water that brings
566
00:27:07,060 --> 00:27:09,160
the purification before we commence
567
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:11,083
our prayers and our acts of worship.
568
00:27:13,015 --> 00:27:14,030
(contemplative orchestral music)
569
00:27:14,030 --> 00:27:15,480
- [Narrator] In the 13th century,
570
00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:17,760
when a sultan purified himself,
571
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,753
a servant would be standing
by to give him a clean towel.
572
00:27:23,310 --> 00:27:25,560
The mechanical girl was designed to do
573
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,980
this work without human assistance,
574
00:27:27,980 --> 00:27:30,363
and that makes her a kind of robot.
575
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,030
If Chris can make her work, it will mean
576
00:27:34,030 --> 00:27:38,050
that al-Jazari designed
the first robot in history.
577
00:27:38,050 --> 00:27:40,340
- I'm interested to see
if something can be made
578
00:27:40,340 --> 00:27:42,730
with modern materials that would imitate
579
00:27:42,730 --> 00:27:46,543
the actions of a design that's
almost a thousand years old.
580
00:27:48,236 --> 00:27:49,770
- [Chris] Oh, hi, Bert.
581
00:27:49,770 --> 00:27:51,460
- Hi, Chris, what do you got for me?
582
00:27:51,460 --> 00:27:54,023
- I really hope this
meets with your approval.
583
00:27:58,160 --> 00:27:59,173
- [Bert] Oh, wow!
584
00:28:00,530 --> 00:28:01,580
I'd love to see it working.
585
00:28:01,580 --> 00:28:04,200
- Okay, alrighty, so we start with dumping
586
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,010
our water in our first tank on top.
587
00:28:07,010 --> 00:28:09,770
This is our main reservoir.
588
00:28:09,770 --> 00:28:11,710
(water splashing)
589
00:28:11,710 --> 00:28:13,174
- Can I pull the plug?
- Pull that little plug.
590
00:28:13,174 --> 00:28:15,683
- Can I do it?
- Straight up and there we go.
591
00:28:15,683 --> 00:28:17,687
(contemplative synth music)
592
00:28:17,687 --> 00:28:20,550
(water splashing)
593
00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:23,503
You may wanna step back. (laughs)
594
00:28:25,730 --> 00:28:30,170
So it will fill up our
basin almost to the brim
595
00:28:30,170 --> 00:28:31,993
before it starts siphoning out.
596
00:28:33,170 --> 00:28:36,363
So you now have a few
moments to wash your hands.
597
00:28:37,486 --> 00:28:38,812
- Yes.
598
00:28:38,812 --> 00:28:40,705
- Almost overflows.
- There it goes.
599
00:28:40,705 --> 00:28:44,640
Almost overflowing and starting to float.
600
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,660
It's starting to float.
601
00:28:46,660 --> 00:28:49,180
- [Chris] We should see our attendant
602
00:28:49,180 --> 00:28:52,475
offer us the towel, and there we go.
603
00:28:52,475 --> 00:28:53,980
- [Bert] Oh, I see.
604
00:28:53,980 --> 00:28:57,200
It works slowly then, very impressive.
605
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:58,200
- [Chris] Wanna do it again?
606
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,217
- Yeah.
(water splashing)
607
00:29:00,217 --> 00:29:01,380
- There it goes.
608
00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:04,840
It was a bit of a concern
that it wasn't going to work.
609
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:07,380
I really couldn't test
the individual pieces
610
00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:12,380
as I was putting it together,
but it works. (laughs)
611
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:14,250
- [Narrator] This means
that using only water
612
00:29:14,250 --> 00:29:16,820
as a power source, al-Jazari created
613
00:29:16,820 --> 00:29:19,800
the first working robot in history,
614
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,723
and the robot is far from
his most complex invention.
615
00:29:23,970 --> 00:29:25,550
Some transmit water power
616
00:29:25,550 --> 00:29:29,250
through an elaborate
interplay of levers and gears.
617
00:29:29,250 --> 00:29:30,620
- Would there have been anything
618
00:29:30,620 --> 00:29:33,400
of this nature in Europe or elsewhere?
619
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,640
- Not really, we know that
things like this were given
620
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,060
by Muslim rulers as gifts
to Christian rulers.
621
00:29:40,060 --> 00:29:43,200
They served the same function
of public admiration,
622
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,072
a kind of mechanical marvel to look at.
623
00:29:46,072 --> 00:29:47,292
(dramatic orchestral music)
624
00:29:47,292 --> 00:29:48,670
(machine whirring)
625
00:29:48,670 --> 00:29:50,170
- [Narrator] In their own marvels,
626
00:29:50,170 --> 00:29:54,090
Europeans adapted some of
al-Jazari's mechanical technology,
627
00:29:54,090 --> 00:29:56,550
including his most farsighted innovation,
628
00:29:56,550 --> 00:29:58,503
now known as the crankshaft.
629
00:29:59,455 --> 00:30:02,190
(engine rumbling)
630
00:30:02,190 --> 00:30:04,640
Today, the crankshaft is an essential part
631
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,513
of every truck and automobile,
632
00:30:08,550 --> 00:30:12,000
technology that a Muslim
visionary shared with the world
633
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,144
in his book of ingenious
mechanical devices.
634
00:30:15,144 --> 00:30:16,570
(dramatic orchestral music)
635
00:30:16,570 --> 00:30:19,453
Up next, secrets of the harem.
636
00:30:21,584 --> 00:30:25,667
(dramatic choral symphony music)
637
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,310
The Topkapi Palace Museum was once
638
00:30:29,310 --> 00:30:31,163
the hub of the Ottoman Empire.
639
00:30:33,300 --> 00:30:35,300
Three centuries ago, the palace grounds
640
00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:37,560
were as crowded as they are today,
641
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,593
with courtiers, generals,
scientists, and slaves.
642
00:30:43,250 --> 00:30:46,450
But down a long pathway
lay a part of the palace
643
00:30:46,450 --> 00:30:49,333
that only the sultan and
a select few could enter.
644
00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:51,850
The name of this place might be
645
00:30:51,850 --> 00:30:55,103
the only Arabic word you know, harem.
646
00:30:57,620 --> 00:30:59,830
- Nobody knew what went
on inside the harem.
647
00:30:59,830 --> 00:31:01,570
That was absolutely secret.
648
00:31:01,570 --> 00:31:03,220
The word, harem, means forbidden.
649
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:05,363
It's a forbidden area.
650
00:31:07,500 --> 00:31:09,340
- [Narrator] Harem, the word conjures
651
00:31:09,340 --> 00:31:12,410
Hollywood fantasies of
sex slaves and orgies,
652
00:31:12,410 --> 00:31:14,904
all to please the all-powerful sultan.
653
00:31:14,904 --> 00:31:17,320
(women laughing)
654
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,040
And in the real harem, the sultan
655
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:20,993
had many women to do his bidding.
656
00:31:23,282 --> 00:31:24,290
(Ganan speaking in foreign language)
657
00:31:24,290 --> 00:31:27,413
Today, Ganan Gimeli is
the harem's curator.
658
00:31:38,980 --> 00:31:42,060
(contemplative orchestral music)
659
00:31:42,060 --> 00:31:43,590
- [Narrator] The room seemed designed
660
00:31:43,590 --> 00:31:45,573
to encourage sexual passion.
661
00:31:47,507 --> 00:31:51,924
(Ganan speaking in foreign language)
662
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,130
- [Narrator] But in one wing of the harem,
663
00:32:04,130 --> 00:32:07,103
bars on the widows hint
at a different story.
664
00:32:08,190 --> 00:32:12,323
The rooms beyond are locked,
each one, a prison cell.
665
00:32:14,340 --> 00:32:17,880
This museum secret will
reveal who is imprisoned here
666
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:19,450
and what happened when they got out.
667
00:32:19,450 --> 00:32:22,117
(bars clanking)
668
00:32:25,010 --> 00:32:26,520
Women were brought to the harem
669
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,090
when they were very young,
snatched from their homes
670
00:32:29,090 --> 00:32:32,720
in outlying Christian regions
of the Ottoman Empire.
671
00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,950
- Be brought in, they
would convert to Islam,
672
00:32:34,950 --> 00:32:37,700
and they would go through a
whole process of education.
673
00:32:37,700 --> 00:32:40,290
It's a very beautiful place, but it's
674
00:32:40,290 --> 00:32:42,760
actually quite a severe environment,
675
00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:44,670
and I often compare it, it's like
676
00:32:44,670 --> 00:32:47,003
a kind of really tough
girls boarding school.
677
00:32:48,670 --> 00:32:52,030
- [Narrator] Just how tough can
be seen in this spartan room
678
00:32:52,030 --> 00:32:55,327
where women of the harem
wrote messages 300 years ago.
679
00:33:08,773 --> 00:33:10,487
- [Narrator] The inscription reads,
680
00:33:10,487 --> 00:33:13,887
"When someone lost a mirror,
I was accused of stealing it."
681
00:33:25,550 --> 00:33:27,630
- [Narrator] After
receiving her education,
682
00:33:27,630 --> 00:33:30,093
a young woman would be
presented to the sultan.
683
00:33:31,570 --> 00:33:33,430
She would soon discover that the sultan
684
00:33:33,430 --> 00:33:35,383
didn't just have sex on his mind.
685
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:41,080
- The idea really behind
the harem for the sultan
686
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,340
was that he should have heirs,
687
00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:46,790
and that's why it's not as
sexy as we like to think
688
00:33:46,790 --> 00:33:49,713
because really it was
just about procreation.
689
00:33:51,130 --> 00:33:52,950
And it wasn't about having
great time while you did it.
690
00:33:52,950 --> 00:33:54,793
It was just about getting boys out.
691
00:33:56,710 --> 00:33:59,640
- [Narrator] Any son of a sultan
was in line for the throne,
692
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,560
so when a new sultan was
declared, all his brothers
693
00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:04,963
and half-brothers were
potential sultans, too.
694
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,040
Every new sultan began his reign
695
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,630
by eliminating the competition.
696
00:34:12,630 --> 00:34:14,750
- The guy who took power immediately had
697
00:34:14,750 --> 00:34:16,670
all his brothers rounded up and killed
698
00:34:16,670 --> 00:34:18,820
so that there would be no
dissension in the state
699
00:34:18,820 --> 00:34:21,043
so that he would rule unchallenged.
700
00:34:23,930 --> 00:34:25,810
- [Narrator] Even the
sultan's youngest brothers
701
00:34:25,810 --> 00:34:27,119
would be put to death.
702
00:34:27,119 --> 00:34:29,536
(boy grunts)
703
00:34:30,940 --> 00:34:33,230
- The killing just got sort of too gross,
704
00:34:33,230 --> 00:34:35,050
and people were offended.
705
00:34:35,050 --> 00:34:38,023
19 boys, perfectly healthy, good boys,
706
00:34:38,900 --> 00:34:41,260
and they're kind of taken
out to the burial grounds
707
00:34:41,260 --> 00:34:43,010
and they go through
the streets of Istanbul
708
00:34:43,010 --> 00:34:45,960
and everybody starts wailing,
and this is a terrible event.
709
00:34:47,430 --> 00:34:51,010
- [Narrator] Revulsion led to
a ban on such brutal killings,
710
00:34:51,010 --> 00:34:53,440
but the sultans still
needed a way to contain
711
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:55,283
their brothers' designs on power.
712
00:34:56,420 --> 00:35:00,240
And that brings us back here
to these barred windows.
713
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:03,740
- Behind us here is what is referred to
714
00:35:03,740 --> 00:35:07,190
as the notorious kafes or the cage.
715
00:35:07,190 --> 00:35:08,870
The new idea was that the brothers
716
00:35:08,870 --> 00:35:11,448
would drag out their existence here.
717
00:35:11,448 --> 00:35:13,450
(reflective orchestral music)
718
00:35:13,450 --> 00:35:14,520
- [Narrator] One of the first boys
719
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:16,710
to grow up in this prison was Ibrahim I.
720
00:35:19,488 --> 00:35:20,321
(child crying)
721
00:35:20,321 --> 00:35:23,460
Locked up with his siblings
when he was just two years old,
722
00:35:23,460 --> 00:35:26,577
Ibrahim was given food and
shelter but little else.
723
00:35:26,577 --> 00:35:27,850
(woman crying)
(door banging)
724
00:35:27,850 --> 00:35:31,153
He was deprived of love
and even human contact.
725
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:36,800
After 22 years, when he was
told the sultan had died
726
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:39,320
and he was next in line for the throne,
727
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,314
Ibrahim believed it was a cruel joke.
728
00:35:42,314 --> 00:35:43,147
(body thuds)
(man groans)
729
00:35:43,147 --> 00:35:45,390
He refused to budge until someone proved
730
00:35:45,390 --> 00:35:47,403
that the old sultan was really dead.
731
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,330
When Ibrahim walked out into the sunlight,
732
00:35:51,330 --> 00:35:53,160
he struggled to adjust.
733
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:54,540
(birds chirping)
734
00:35:54,540 --> 00:35:57,663
- He just went on a major spree.
735
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,070
- [Narrator] Like a sultan
in a Hollywood movie,
736
00:36:01,070 --> 00:36:03,510
he tried to make up for lost time.
737
00:36:03,510 --> 00:36:05,960
He had sex with a new partner every night,
738
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:07,923
ignoring his official duties.
739
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:11,050
And as for the prison where he suffered
740
00:36:11,050 --> 00:36:13,873
for so long, he expanded it.
741
00:36:14,792 --> 00:36:15,850
- And actually not just
742
00:36:15,850 --> 00:36:17,510
in this kinda handsome-looking building
743
00:36:17,510 --> 00:36:19,400
but in a whole ward, a
rather kind of dingy,
744
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,193
little hovels up above the corridors.
745
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,220
So you had nephews and uncles
746
00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:27,600
and brothers and all these guys
747
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,649
who were living in
various states of neglect.
748
00:36:30,649 --> 00:36:32,340
(insects chirping)
(fire crackling)
749
00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:33,960
- [Narrator] So many years in the cage
750
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,560
had unhinged Ibrahim's mind.
751
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:39,480
He began to suspect his
harem was unfaithful.
752
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,930
What he did next was insane.
753
00:36:41,930 --> 00:36:42,763
- So they were all taken to the edge
754
00:36:42,763 --> 00:36:44,623
of the Bosphorus out on a boat.
755
00:36:45,630 --> 00:36:46,770
Weights were put round their feet,
756
00:36:46,770 --> 00:36:49,048
and they were thrown into the
water where they all drowned.
757
00:36:49,048 --> 00:36:50,780
(water splashing)
758
00:36:50,780 --> 00:36:53,080
A fishermen, later on that day,
759
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:57,280
he dived down and found
himself, to his horror,
760
00:36:57,280 --> 00:36:59,700
amongst this sort of
grove of beautiful women,
761
00:36:59,700 --> 00:37:02,506
all bowing gracefully
with the passing tide.
762
00:37:02,506 --> 00:37:05,756
(haunting synth music)
763
00:37:07,250 --> 00:37:08,950
- [Narrator] When the
news reached the palace,
764
00:37:08,950 --> 00:37:11,413
Ibrahim's courtiers took drastic action.
765
00:37:12,930 --> 00:37:15,480
They marched him back to
his gilded cage in the harem
766
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:17,383
where he was discreetly strangled.
767
00:37:22,914 --> 00:37:24,470
(contemplative orchestral music)
768
00:37:24,470 --> 00:37:28,730
To give a man nothing and
then to give him everything is
769
00:37:28,730 --> 00:37:32,790
a recipe for disaster, and perhaps that's
770
00:37:32,790 --> 00:37:36,593
why the sultan's harem
really should be forbidden.
771
00:37:41,810 --> 00:37:44,903
Up next, the secret of
winning an unwinnable war.
772
00:37:46,038 --> 00:37:50,121
(dramatic choral symphony music)
773
00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,580
Topkapi Palace did not become a museum
774
00:37:54,580 --> 00:37:57,670
because the Ottoman
rulers wanted it that way.
775
00:37:57,670 --> 00:38:00,110
In fact, the sultans
might still be here today
776
00:38:00,110 --> 00:38:02,980
except for one miscalculation.
777
00:38:02,980 --> 00:38:07,460
In World War I, the reigning
sultan backed the Germans.
778
00:38:07,460 --> 00:38:10,150
Even after his army was
crushed by the Allies,
779
00:38:10,150 --> 00:38:12,760
he made no attempt to make peace.
780
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:15,550
After the war, a popular uprising replaced
781
00:38:15,550 --> 00:38:18,783
the Ottoman Empire with the
Democratic Nation of Turkey.
782
00:38:20,550 --> 00:38:23,040
The sultan fled not just from his palace
783
00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:24,090
but from the country.
784
00:38:25,860 --> 00:38:28,110
The Turks were proud of achieving freedom,
785
00:38:28,110 --> 00:38:30,620
but it came with the loss of identity.
786
00:38:30,620 --> 00:38:33,083
If they were no longer
Ottomans, who were they?
787
00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:37,840
Turkish archeologists sought the answer
788
00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,330
in the distant past, looking for evidence
789
00:38:40,330 --> 00:38:43,183
of a Turkish culture
before the Ottoman Empire.
790
00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:49,850
And today, their
discoveries are on view here
791
00:38:49,850 --> 00:38:53,563
in the archeological museum
just outside Topkapi's walls.
792
00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:58,100
The finds are over 2,500 years old.
793
00:38:58,100 --> 00:38:59,990
Historians believe they were all made
794
00:38:59,990 --> 00:39:01,953
by a people called the Hittites.
795
00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:06,830
But their works exhibit so much variety
796
00:39:06,830 --> 00:39:10,090
that they do not reveal a
single cultural identity.
797
00:39:10,090 --> 00:39:15,090
Were they warriors, scholars,
hunters, or something else?
798
00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:20,033
That is our final museum secret.
799
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,160
We begin our investigation
in the dessert valley
800
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,500
of Tell Tayinat, where
archeologists have spent decades
801
00:39:27,500 --> 00:39:31,720
digging methodically layer
by layer into the past.
802
00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:33,370
- So what we're looking
at here is actually
803
00:39:33,370 --> 00:39:36,050
the remains of a temple
from the Neo-Hittite period,
804
00:39:36,050 --> 00:39:39,200
from the ninth to late eighth century.
805
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:41,500
The actual temple itself
was rather modest,
806
00:39:41,500 --> 00:39:43,860
comprised of two small rooms.
807
00:39:43,860 --> 00:39:44,770
(tractor rumbling)
808
00:39:44,770 --> 00:39:47,880
- [Narrator] The temple was
the center of a Hittite town.
809
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,720
- And we know it was destroyed in 738 B.C.
810
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:55,720
by the Assyrian Empire-builder,
Tiglath-Pileser III.
811
00:39:56,090 --> 00:39:59,410
- [Narrator] This Assyrian
stone carving shows Assyrians
812
00:39:59,410 --> 00:40:02,150
cutting off the heads of
the vanquished Hittites.
813
00:40:02,150 --> 00:40:03,890
- It's essentially meant to intimidate,
814
00:40:03,890 --> 00:40:06,800
to signal to the local
vanquished community
815
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,660
that if you did not toe the line,
816
00:40:08,660 --> 00:40:11,790
that's what you could
expect to happen to you.
817
00:40:11,790 --> 00:40:13,500
- [Narrator] It appears
the Turkish identity
818
00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:15,593
may be linked to a defeated people.
819
00:40:17,470 --> 00:40:19,500
But what about the
Hittites' earlier history,
820
00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:21,940
say 300 years before?
821
00:40:21,940 --> 00:40:25,130
- Well, okay, so we've
been working on exposing
822
00:40:25,130 --> 00:40:28,053
the rest of this room and
the rest of the architecture.
823
00:40:30,370 --> 00:40:32,400
- So we have actually a room
here that we've excavated
824
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:35,040
down to the floor and
then a second room here
825
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,910
of some large building that
we've just begun to uncover
826
00:40:37,910 --> 00:40:40,420
that's part of, could be
an administrative building.
827
00:40:40,420 --> 00:40:42,380
It could be a palace maybe.
828
00:40:42,380 --> 00:40:43,730
- [Narrator] These earlier Hittites
829
00:40:43,730 --> 00:40:45,563
lived on a grander scale.
830
00:40:46,530 --> 00:40:48,730
- So they produced beautiful works of art,
831
00:40:48,730 --> 00:40:51,760
large sculptures of lions and reliefs
832
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:53,680
of various mythological scenes.
833
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:55,790
It looks like their religious traditions.
834
00:40:55,790 --> 00:40:57,140
- [Narrator] They
protected their treasures
835
00:40:57,140 --> 00:40:58,683
behind high walls.
836
00:40:59,940 --> 00:41:02,780
- They produced these monumental citadels
837
00:41:02,780 --> 00:41:04,780
with massive fortifications,
838
00:41:04,780 --> 00:41:08,430
large beautifully-carved
sculptural reliefs.
839
00:41:08,430 --> 00:41:11,610
So they were into monumentality
in a remarkable way.
840
00:41:11,610 --> 00:41:13,520
- [Narrator] And these
pottery vessels suggest
841
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,500
they paid for it all with
agriculture and trade.
842
00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:18,500
- I actually think that there
were probably quite sedentary.
843
00:41:18,500 --> 00:41:21,630
They built large cities,
they were good farmers.
844
00:41:21,630 --> 00:41:23,440
- [Narrator] So perhaps
the Turkish identity is
845
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:25,453
routed in trade and monumentalism.
846
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:29,380
But when we dig even deeper
into Hittite history,
847
00:41:29,380 --> 00:41:31,143
the picture changes once again.
848
00:41:33,190 --> 00:41:35,660
Hittite tablets from the 13th century B.C.
849
00:41:35,660 --> 00:41:38,733
tell of army of chariots, the
fighter jets of their day.
850
00:41:40,060 --> 00:41:43,010
Like the Ottomans, the earliest
Hittites used their might
851
00:41:43,010 --> 00:41:45,723
to expand their empire
across the Middle East.
852
00:41:47,020 --> 00:41:49,403
They even threatened mighty Egypt.
853
00:41:51,310 --> 00:41:55,899
In 1275 B.C., the legions of
Pharaoh Ramses II attacked.
854
00:41:55,899 --> 00:41:57,150
(horses clomping)
855
00:41:57,150 --> 00:41:59,253
Both sides put everything they had
856
00:41:59,253 --> 00:42:01,801
into the battle, 5,000 chariots in all.
857
00:42:01,801 --> 00:42:04,550
(metal clanging)
858
00:42:04,550 --> 00:42:05,920
Casualties mounted.
859
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,950
Neither side could gain advantage.
860
00:42:07,950 --> 00:42:09,510
It seemed they were fated to battle
861
00:42:09,510 --> 00:42:10,942
each other into oblivion.
862
00:42:10,942 --> 00:42:12,350
(soldiers shouting)
863
00:42:12,350 --> 00:42:14,820
And at this moment, the
Hittites did something
864
00:42:14,820 --> 00:42:17,380
no Ottoman would ever have done.
865
00:42:17,380 --> 00:42:20,500
It was the defining moment
for the first Turkish people
866
00:42:20,500 --> 00:42:22,623
and for their enemy as well.
867
00:42:24,270 --> 00:42:26,360
What happened is written
in the Hittite language
868
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:29,373
on this stone tablet in
the archeological museum.
869
00:42:30,610 --> 00:42:32,740
And in Cairo's Egyptian museum,
870
00:42:32,740 --> 00:42:36,980
the same text is inscribed
in Egyptian hieroglyphics.
871
00:42:36,980 --> 00:42:39,520
- Both sides retreated,
and I think they realized
872
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,250
they probably couldn't
control or dominate the other,
873
00:42:42,250 --> 00:42:45,780
and so instead they reached
a diplomatic agreement,
874
00:42:45,780 --> 00:42:48,280
a detente, if you will,
to leave each other alone.
875
00:42:49,290 --> 00:42:50,710
- [Narrator] The agreement is commemorated
876
00:42:50,710 --> 00:42:53,380
at UN headquarters in New York as proof
877
00:42:53,380 --> 00:42:56,732
that peace is possible
even in the Middle East.
878
00:42:56,732 --> 00:42:58,590
(explosions booming)
879
00:42:58,590 --> 00:43:00,300
And if the Turkish
people are still looking
880
00:43:00,300 --> 00:43:02,913
for something to define
them, they can take heart.
881
00:43:04,030 --> 00:43:05,510
Along with all the Turkish people
882
00:43:05,510 --> 00:43:08,460
have given to civilization,
their ancestors wrote
883
00:43:08,460 --> 00:43:10,853
the world's first peace treaty.
884
00:43:12,670 --> 00:43:15,460
In this palace filled with
treasures of the past,
885
00:43:15,460 --> 00:43:20,460
for every mystery we reveal,
far more must remain unspoken,
886
00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:25,250
secrets of the brightest minds
and of the darkest souls,
887
00:43:25,250 --> 00:43:29,598
hidden in plain site inside
the Topkapi Palace Museum.
888
00:43:29,598 --> 00:43:33,265
(dramatic orchestral music)
889
00:44:03,218 --> 00:44:06,885
(contemplative synth music)
70951
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