When Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror took Istanbul in 1453, he first ordered the construction of a new palace for this new Ottoman capital, on a site in the district of Beyazit where Istanbul University stands today. But before long, he changed his mind and had a number of buildings constructed on the headland to the southeast. This was to become the palace later known as Topkapi.

Topkapi Palace, the imperial residence of the Ottoman Sultans for four centuries, lies at the tip of the headland at the mouth of the Bosphorus Strait. In Byzantine times, monasteries and public houses belonging to the priests of Haghia Sophia stood on this site which is dominated today by complex of buildings forming Topkapi Palace.

It is possible that the first builders of Topkapi Palace made use of existing foundations and retaining walls, hence the non-axial plan of the palace.Undoubtedly Topkapi involved a synthesis of Byzantine elements but what grew up on the peninsula by the Golden Horn cannot possibly be divorced from its predecessors in Ottoman history.

Miniature depicting musicians in the Harem		Cini (Ceramic Tiles) of Iznik, Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

Sultanahmet-ISTANBUL-TURKEY

Tel: 00-90-212-5224222 Open daily except Tuesdays