Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul,
Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul is one of the world’s largest museums. The palace is located in the oldest part of the city, which today is called Sarayburnu and is one of the seven hills of Istanbul, where there are the remains of several buildings from the Byzantine and pre -Byzantine periods. In 1453 when he conquered Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror built his first palace in Beyazit, today the site of the Rectory building of Istanbul University. Later the eye-catching beauty of Sarayburnu persuaded him to have another palace built between the years 1475 to 1478, which was called the “New Palace”. The New Palace, which was a complex of separate houses and gardens covering an area of 82 thousand square meters, is surrounded by a wall half of which runs along the shore. There are four gates in the landward wall and three in the wall facing the sea. Because one of the gates was called Topkapi, the palace came to be known as Topkapi Palace. The main gate is the one opening onto Sultan Ahmed Square and called “Bab-ı Humayun” For many years, from 1478 to 1839, this palace was not only the residence of the sultans but the administrative center of the Ottoman state. Meetings and ceremonies were held here, and many significant events occurred within its walls. The three large gates of Topkapi Palace open onto the three main sections. The main gate of Bab-ı Humayun opens onto the first courtyard, the second gate called Middle Gate or Bab’us selam opens onto the Second Courtyard. The rooms under the two towers of this gate are for the porters. On the right of the Second Courtyard are kitchens, on the left, stables, dormitories and the Kubbe Alti and lc Hazine apartments.
You will continue to find more details about Topkapi Palace Museum on Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum – Chapter 2.
