TopKapi Palace

TopKapi Palace


The TopKapi Palace (or the Seraglio) it is a huge museum in the east of Fatih district in Istanbul in Turkey.In the 15th and 16th century it was the main residence and administrative headquarters of Ottoman Sultans.

The construction of the palace was ordered by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.


The construction palace was began in 1459,after completing six years of conquest of Constantinople.After the completion of palace it was originally named as "New Palace" to distinguish it from the "Old Palace" in Beyazit Square.

                                                     old palace

The name of palace was changed from New Palace to TopKapi (meaning:common gate). The complex expanded over the centuries, with major renovations after the 1509 earhquake and the 1665 fire. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. Female members of the Sultan's family lived in the harem, and leading state officials, including the Grand Vizier, held meetings in the Imperial Council building.

1509 Earthquake 

After the 17th century the Topkapi Palace gradually lost its importance.The sultans of that period preferred to spend more time in their new palaces along the Bosphorus. In 1856 Sultan Abdulmejid I decided to move the court to the newly built Dolmabahçe Palace.

                                                          Sultan Abdulmejid I 


 Topkapı retained some of its functions, including the imperial treasury, library and mint.

After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, a government decree dated April 3, 1924 transformed Topkapı into a museum.

Some pictures of TopKapi Museum












Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism now administers the Topkapı Palace Museum. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public as of 2020, including the Ottoman Imperial Harem and the treasury, called hazine where the Spoonmaker's Diamond and the Topkapi Dagger are on display.The museum collection also includes Ottoman clothing, weapons, armor, miniatures, religious relics, and illuminated manuscripts such as the Topkapi manuscript. Officials of the ministry as well as armed guards of the Turkish military guard the complex. The Topkapı Palace forms a part the Historic Areas of Istanbul, a group of sites in Istanbul that UNESCO recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1985.

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