One of the world’s most fabulous palaces is undoubtedly the Topkapı Sarayı, the residential and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries.  The palace, actually a small city covering an area of 499,000 square meters (about 173 acres), is organized around for consecutive courtyards, each serving a specific function and each comprising a conglomerate of gardens and pavilions, arcades and suites.  The complex, situated in Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point) the most strategic and aesthetically pleasing hill of Istanbul, overlooks the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea.  It once had a staff of 20,000, including 5,000 permanent residents.  Here the sultan and the Divan-i Hümayun (Imperial Council) discussed the administrative, judicial, social and cultural affairs of the state.  The imperial edicts issued by the sultan were carried to the far corners of the empire, which at its height extended from the Caspian Sea to the heart of Europe and incorporated the entire Western Asia and much of Northern Africa.

Mehmed II, the conqueror of Istanbul, began work on the Topkapı Palace shortly after the conquest of the city in 1453.  His first palace, the Eski Saray (Old Palace), was situated on the site later occupied by the Süleymaniye Mosque and the University of Istanbul.  Mehmed II desired a larger and more efficient structure designed solely for administrative activities – a new palace that reflected the glory and power of the empire and commemorated the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul.  The location selected for this new palace was the ancient acropolis an area also favored by the city’s Byzantine rulers. 

The sultan himself supervised the design of the Topkapı Palace; actual construction occurred between 1459 and 1465.  Yeni Saray (New Palace), as it was then called, was a massive fortress; a wall 1.400 meters long and interspersed with towers enclosed almost the entire Sarayburnu.  One of the gates on the waterfront, the Topkapı (Cannon Gate), eventually gave its name to the entire complex.

Throughout its history, a number of units, pavilions and gardens were repaired, reconstructed and added to the complex.  Consequently, the Topkapı Palace stands not only as a monumental city-palace, but also as the most remarkable collection of Ottoman residential architecture. 

Mehmed II’s original plan included the first three courtyards; the Harem was added in the 16th and the fourth courtyard in the 17th century.  Devastating fires, especially those of 1574, 1665 and 1865, destroyed many of the original buildings.  The palace once extended to the water’s edge and was surrounded by gardens. The Gülhane Park now occupies a portion of this area.

The plan of the Topkapı Palace clearly reflects the structure of Mehmed II’s empire.  The first courtyard functioned basically as the service area and contained support facilities; it was open to the public and included the outer treasury and arsenal with offices, storage rooms and dormitories for those serving the Birun (Outer Palace), but not residing in the palace proper.

The fortified Bab-ı Hümayun (Imperial Gate) provides access to the first courtyard.  The gate’s second story was later demolished.  An inscription over the portal states that it was built in 1478.  Only two of the original buildings in the first courtyard survive: the Çinili Köşk (Tiled Pavilion), built in 1472 and restored in the late 16th century: and the Alay Köşkü (Procession Pavilion), completely refurbished in the 19th century.

The palace proper begins with the second courtyard, entered through the Bab üs-Selam (Gate of Salutations), also called the Orta Kapı (Middle Gate).  Open only to those who had official business in the palace, it contained offices and facilities for the Birun, including the Divan-i Hümayun.  Everyone, except the sultan had to dismount at the entrance and proceeded on foot.

The enormous kitchens to the right of the second courtyard consist of ten large chambers with domical chimneys, each serving different residents of the palace, such as the sultan, queen mothers, Harem personnel and ministers of the Divan-ı Hümayun.  The famous architect Sinan designed these kitchens after the 1574 fire.  The second courtyard also included mosques, storage rooms, and dormitories for the cooks and offices for the staff.

The chamber with eight domes on the far left of the courtyard housed the Hazine (Inner Treasury) of the Ottoman dynasty.  Next to it stands a three-domed pavilion built by Süleyman the Magnificent in the middle of the 16th century.  The first domed chamber, the Kubbealtı (literally "under the dome"), was the seat of the Divan-i Hümayun.  Here thirteen members of the Imperial Council, presided by the sadrazam (grand vizer), met four times a week to discuss state affairs.  The sultan, who was the head of the council, rarely sat in on the meetings. He would, however, observe the sessions from a room in the square tower above the Kubbealtı.  This room was hidden from the council by a screened window so the ministers never knew when the sultan was listening to their discussions.  The secretaries of the council who recorded the proceedings of the meetings used the second domed chamber.  The third chamber was assigned to the sadrazam.  Under the tower of the Kubbealtı is one of the entrances to the Harem, called the Araba Kapısı (Carriage Door).  The area on the far left was reserved for the Has Ahır (Imperial Stables), the Raht Hazinesi (Harness Treasury), and chambers for the Imrahor (Master of the Stables) and offices for the other court attendants.

Records indicate on a normal day 5,000 imperial guards and janissaries filled the courtyard.  During religious holidays and when foreign ambassadors presented their credentials to the sultan, this figure doubled.  And yet there was absolute silence in the courtyard with thousands of people quietly going about their business and observing imperial protocol.

At the end of the second courtyard is an impressive gate, the Bab üs-Saadet (Gate of Felicity), also called the Ak Ağalar Kapısı (Gate of the White Eunuchs).  The sultan sat in front of this gate during accession ceremonies and religious holidays, receiving the foremost members of the state.  The Bab üs-Saadet leads into the third courtyard, the inner palace reserved for the Enderun (Palace School), which trained civil service personnel under the supervision of the Ak Ağas (White Eunuchs).

Upon entering the third courtyard, one first encounters the Arz Odası (Throne Room) where the sultan received foreign ambassadors and the sadrazam reported to him the activities of the Imperial Council.  This building, dating from the reign of Mehmed II, was restored in the 19th century.  The Library of Ahmed III erected in 1719 stands behind the Arz Odası.  It replaced the pool which originally stood in the center of the courtyard.

The chambers on the right included the Enderun classrooms and dormitories together with the Pavilion of Mehmed II, popularly called the Hazine (Imperial Treasury).  Other buildings of the courtyard served various functions of the Palace School and contained residential units for the White Eunuchs.  The Hırka-i Saadet (Pavilion of the Holy Mantle), one of the most important structures, occupies the far left of the courtyard.  It contained holy artifacts brought from Egypt by Selim I in 1517 and housed the mantle, standard and bow of the Prophet Muhammed as well as the swords of the four orthodox caliphs.  The Ağalar Camii (Mosque of the Ağas) and the second entrance to the Harem, the Kuşhane Kapısı (Birdcage Door), stand to the left of the pavilion.

The fourth courtyard of the palace does not have a formal entrance; it was designed as a garden built on several levels and comprises a number of pavilions, terraces and pools.  It can be entered from the veranda behind the Hırka-i Saadet as well as through passages between the buildings.  On the left, facing a pool, is the famous Revan Köşkü, built in 1636 by Murad IV to commemorate the conquest of Revan (Erivan) in the Caucasus.  Beyond the pool a marble terrace overlooks the Golden Horn.  This terrace is flanked by the Sünnet Odası (Circumcision Room) built in 1641 and the Bağdad Köşkü erected in 1639 by Murad IV after the conquest of Baghdad.  In the center of the terrace the Iftariye, a baldachin with a golden dome, dates from the middle of the 17th century.

Below this terrace, tulip gardens surround an 18th century pavilion built during the reign of Ahmed III, popularly called the Sofa Köşkü.  At the edge of the complex, the Mecidiye Köşkü, built by Abdülmecid in the 1840s, is the last addition to the palace.

The celebrated Harem occupies the gigantic area on the far left of the second and third courtyard.  It contains over three hundred units comprised of apartments, libraries, dining rooms, reception halls, dormitories, classrooms, baths, infirmaries, and laundries. These units are separated by courtyards, gardens and pools.  The Harem, which literally means a private or sacred place, was guarded by the Kara Ağas (Black Eunuchs).  It served as the residence of the sultan and his family and as the location where the princes received their early education. 

The Harem, constructed on several levels, was not a part of the original palace but was added in the second half of the 16th century.  During the reign of Mehmed II and his immediate followers, the Eski Saray remained in use for private and domestic affairs.  The first Ottoman sultan to move his family into the Topkapı Palace was Süleyman the Magnificent and after the middle of the 16th century, it became customary for the wives and children of the sultans to reside there.

The Ottoman sultans were avid collectors and enthusiastic patrons of the arts.  Their collections, which included Asian and European objects in addition to Ottoman works, were carefully registered and kept in the palace. Thus, the Topkapı Palace contains a wealth of manuscripts, arms and armor, kaftans and embroideries, glass and porcelain, and the entire contents of the fabulous treasury filled with objects fashioned in gold and other precious materials.

It was on the founder of the Turkish Republic’s Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s instructions that the Topkapı Palace and its magnificent collections were opened to the public. On April 3, 1924, a few months after the proclamation of the Republic, the palace became a museum.  Atatürk is known to have twice visited the Museum. In 1927, he inspected the Hırka-i Saadet collection and looked at the Prophet’s mantle and standard.  The following year he toured the buildings in the Sultan Ahmed Square before visiting the Mecidiye Köşkü.  At this time, numerous objects had arrived from other imperial palaces and awaited cataloguing.  The portraits of the sultans, collected by Abdülhamid in the Yıldız Palace, had just been deposited in one of the suites of the Mecidiye Köşkü.  Atatürk asked to see these paintings, spent some time studying them, and requested that they be put on display.

The immense task of sorting, classifying and restoring tens of thousands of items took years.  Sections of the palace opened as soon as the cataloguing of a group of objects was completed and exhibition galleries were ready.  The Çinili Köşk now housing Turkish ceramics and tiles, opened in 1953, on the 500th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul; the Library of Ahmed II and portions of the Harem were ready in 1971; and the restorations of the Arz Odası were completed in 1972.

A number of other units were later renovated and opened to the public, including the Kubbealtı and Has Ahır. Today, the visitor can pass through the Bab üs-Selam and see temporary exhibitions in the chambers adjacent to the gate.  The Imperial Kitchens house the world-renowned Chinese porcelain collection, which numbers over 10,000 items, spanning from the Yüan to the Ching periods; Japanese and European ceramics are also on display in this section.  At the end of the kitchens is the Istanbul glass and porcelain collection dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The wealth of Ottoman arms and armor, supplemented by weapons of other Islamic dynasties, is on view in the former Hazine.  The Kubbealtı remains as it was in the 16th century with its austere and majestic architectural decoration.

Beyond the Bab üs-Saadet one can visit the Arz Odası and the Library of Ahmed III.  The pavilions along the courtyard display the kaftans of the sultans, embroideries and the almost legendary objects from the Hazine.

One of the former dormitories of the Enderun contain illustrated manuscripts and portraits of the sultans while another houses Korans and samples of illumination and exquisite calligraphy.  The Ağalar Camii has been converted into a modern library, bringing together various imperial collections with hundreds of Turkish, Persian and Arabic manuscripts as well as a selection of texts written in Greek, Armenian and Slavonic, illustrated with close to 14,000 paintings. The most impressive manscripts are illustrated histories of the sultans produced during their lifetime. They contain detailed representations of the Topkapı Palace and portray specific personages, enabling us to recreate the history of the Ottoman Empire and the spectacular city-palace of the sultans. The fourth courtyard with its terraces, gardens, pools and pavilions has been renovated and appears as it did in the 17th and 18th centuries.  The Mecidiye Köşkü is now a restaurant with a magnificent view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea.

The Topkapı Palace, the first public museum of the Republic, is a living collection of centuries of Ottoman domestic architecture and artistic production and the most vivid testament of Atatürk’s interest in the preservation of the Turkish cultural heritage.

Originally Published in The Guide Istanbul September/October 2002