Native name: Topkapi Sarayi
Topkapi Palace is located on Seraglio Point which is a wonderful location overlooking the Golden Horn , Bosphorus and Marmara sea . Construction of the palace was ordered by Fatih Sultan Mehmet , who conquered Constantinople in 1453 and thus ended the
Byzantine
empire . Topkapi Palace was built between 1461 to 1468 , and it became a home to all the Ottoman Sultans for the following four centuries until the reign of Abdulmecid I (1839-1860) . The first palace of Topkapi was covering an area of 700m² and was enclosed within walls which were 1400 meters in length . The palace then grew steadily with various extensions added after the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet . In the reign of Mehmed II the Conqueror , the palace grow extensively to form a city like complex of buildings and annexes , including a shore palace known as the Topkapi shore palace which was named after the nearby gate Topkapi of the ancient walls of
Istanbul
, however this shore palace did not reach today as it was burned down in 1863 and lent its name to the great Topkapi Palace Museum of today . Along the fortifying walls surrounding Topkapi Palace , there are a number of gates . These gates are the Otluk gate , the Demir gate
and the Imperial gate (Bab-i Humayun) , along with other minor angled gates between these major ones .
Topkapi palace was functioning as both an administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and the place where the sultan lives with his imperial family and stuff . It kept having these two functions until the 19th century , when Dolmabahce Palace was built in 1856 and the sultan moved to the new palace . Only then , Topkapi Palace was turned into a place of accommodation for the retired senior members of the state . Finally , When the Turkish Republic was declared and the Ottoman empire came to an end , Topkapi Palace was turned into a museum at the order of Atatturk , the founder of the Turkish Republic . Because of the rich collection exhibited in Topkapi Museum , it turned out to be the most important museum in Istanbul as well as one of the most important museums of the whole world .
Topkapi Palace is a classical Turkish palace with courtyards following each other , each entered through its large door , and surrounded by various structures . The main portal of Topkapi Palace is Bab-i Humayun (Imperial Gate) located behind Hagia Sophia and in front of the Fountain of Ahmet III .
