Topkapi Palace
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- For the 1964 movie, see Topkapi (movie).
Missing image Tokapi_Throne_Room.jpg The Throne Room |
| The Throne Room inside the Harem (Arz Odası) |
Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish, literally the "Cannongate Palace"), located in Istanbul (Constantinople), was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1465 to 1853. The construction of the Topkapi Palace was ordered by Sultan Mehmed II in 1459. It was completed in 1465. The palace is located on the Seraglio Point between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul, having a splendid view of the Bosphorus. It consists of many smaller buildings built together and surrounded by four courts.
The First Court (or Alay Meydanı) spans over the entire Seraglio Point and is surrounded by high walls. The main gate is called Bab-ı Hümayun, simply the Imperial Gate. Apart from the Topkapi Palace, the First Court also contains the old imperial mint (constructed in 1727), the church of Hagia Eirene, the Archeology Museum (constructed during the 19th century) and various fountains (including the Fountain of the Executioner), pavilions (for example the Çinili Pavilion) and gardens (including the Gülhane Park, the old imperial rose garden). The huge Gate of Greeting (Babüsselam) leads into the palace and the Second Court (Divan Meydanı). This court is a park surrounded by the palace hospital, bakery, Janissary quarters, stables, the imperial Harem and Divan to the north and the kitchens to the south. Through the Gate of Felicity (Babüssaade) is the Third Court which is the heart of the palace, a lush garden surrounded by the Hall of the Privy Chamber (Has Oda) occupied by the palace officials, the treasury (which contains some of the wonderful treasures of the Ottoman age), the Harem and some pavilions, with the library of Ahmed III in the center. The Fourth Court was more of a private garden of the Sultan and consists of a number of pavilions, kiosks (köşk), gardens and terraces.
Other places in the Topkapi Palace are the Tower of Justice, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle containing relics of the Prophet Muhammad and the first caliphs, the Throne Room (Arz Odası) in the Harem where the Sultan received his guests and envoys, and the Baghdad Pavilion in the Fourth Court, built by Murad IV.
In 1853 the Sultans decided to move their residence to the more modern Dolmabahçe Palace. Today the Topkapi serves as an imperial museum, and is one of Istanbul's greatest tourist attractions.
External links
- Informational website (http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/topkapi.html) at Bilkent University
- Topkapi photographs (http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/topkapi) by Dick Ossemande:Topkapi-Serail