BEHIND THE DOORS OF TOPKAPI HAREM
...Into the rooms of the concubines and all around Turkey.
by Danica Gianola
Until 1909 the rooms of the Harem of Topkapı were bustling with life. Sultan's concubines and wives, Sultan validé, the children of the Sultan and the eunuchs all lived in this part of the Palace of Topkapı, whose name "Harem" comes from the Arabic word "Haram", prohibited, secret, secluded. The section of the Palace is situated carefully, so that it could not be seen either from the state apartments or from the courtyard, where public affairs took place. At that time, only the Sultan and his sons could enter into the hundreds of rooms which hosted beautiful girls coming from every corner of the empire, to form the feminine household of the Sultan's Palace. Come on! Your sense of anticipation is tangible! Are you looking for an odalisque? Are you asking yourself what will find behind those closed doors? Well, Ylmaz Tufan takes you into those rooms...
click here to view the imperial hall
click here to view the panoramathe complete Topkapi Palace Harem Section virtual tourActually, Ylmaz accompanies you all around Turkey: from the Burdur Museum to the one of Gaziantep... 
click here to view the Burdur Museumthe complete Burdur Museum virtual tour
click here to view the Gaziantep Museum
click here to view the Gaziantep Museumthe complete Gaziantep Museum virtual tourfrom the Hagia Sophia to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology...passing by Istanbul, Ankara, Konya and Kayseri to name but a few waypoints. The photographer created several special projects and one that surely should attract the attention is Mevlana, tomb of the mystic philosopher Mawlana Jalal-ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, situated within a dervish retreat in Konya. Rumi is in fact one of the classical poets writing in Arabic, which influenced Turkish literature throughout the centuries and his works are considered among the best ones to study in order to be introduced to the philosophy of Sufism. 
click here to view the Mevlana Museumthe complete Mevlana Museum virtual tourLet's say it in a few words...360tr is a great resource for panoramic images of Turkey, in an intelligent mix of new technology with places where the time has stopped by...
Take a look at the several historical palaces, at the streets and avenues of Turkey. Enjoy its museums and enter into a mosque, passing by the bustling life of souks. This is Turkey: and 360tr.com places it at you doorstep.... We had a conversation with its founder, Ylmaz.  What pushed you to create the site and what is your ultimate goal?
 During university, I made cylindric panoramas in Istanbul, with a simple digital camera, just for hobby. I just saw my archive getting bigger, with always more beautiful panoramic images and hence decided to create a website to host all the shots. Six months after the website had been created, I learnt QTVR techniques and started taking other panoramic images of Istanbul. After my graduation I opened a design company for websites. I usually travel to beautiful places in Turkey and get the shots. To date, I collaborate with the ministries of culture and tourism, creating virtual tours of the major landmarks in Turkey. My ultimate goal is to take panoramic images of every historical place within Turkey.Do you want to tell us more about your most important projects, are they assigments? In particular about Topkapı harem and Mewlana...but even others if you like?
Culture and tourism ministries sometimes buy some special projects I made for 360tr.com for their sites. Sometimes - on the other hand - we share projects. We are currently planning to make virtual tours of Cappadocia museum, Mardin old city and the Ottoman Palaces. What equipment do you use to shoot the panos?
I use an homemade panorama head with Sigma 8mm on a Canon 40D and a Manfrotto 055pro tripod. How is the VR market today in Turkey ?
In Turkey VR market is non existant. Two or three companies make panoramic photos but the majority neither knows what a panoramic image or a virtual tour is. After our address 360tr.com has been reviewed on the local newspaper some people are starting to wonder and ask about the technology. What is your professional background?
I graduated in Business Administration. In the past I worked for holdings and companies but - after a few years - I opened my own design company.Which professional services do you offer?
Web site design, photography, virtual tours, graphic design and programming. With the virtual tours we make special programs for panoramic photos, to have special effects or to use the panoramic image as a screensaver. Our programs work with OpenGL support. You can download a sample of our program at http://www.360tr.com/images/stories/scr/Eminonu_Yeni_Camii_1.scr Links:
360TR.com Email: yilmaztufan at gmail.com
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