Gate of Felicity - what an alluring and enticing name! Interestingly, in the original language Gate of Felicity does not sound quite so tempting - Bab-us Saadet. Executed in the Rococo style, exquisite and adorned with graceful ornamentation, these gates are impossible to miss at the end of Topkapi's second courtyard.
Bab-us Saadet were the personal gate of the sultan; they led to the most secluded, private part of the sultan's Topkapi Palace - the enderun. And, incidentally, passions here ran very high. At this gate they announced the accession of a new sultan to the throne, here they brought the bodies of rulers killed as a result of palace intrigues, and from here grand viziers were thrown out to be torn apart by enraged Janissaries.
Practically at the exit from the Gate of Felicity is the Audience Chamber, so Bab-us Saadet are also called the Gate of Audience. In old times they were guarded by white eunuchs, who lived on both sides of the gate - hence another name for this place - the Gate of the White Eunuchs.
