Topkapı Palace

Topkapı Palace stands on Seraglio Point at the tip of Istanbul's historic peninsula, where the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara meet, just behind Hagia Sophia. It is part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul, a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed in 1985.

Sultan Mehmed II began the palace soon after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and the main construction took place from 1459. For nearly four hundred years it served as the home of the sultans and the seat of government. In 1856 Sultan Abdulmejid I moved the court to Dolmabahçe Palace, and after the end of the empire the palace was opened as a museum in 1924. The name means Cannon Gate Palace, after a gate that once stood on the shore.

The palace is a series of pavilions, kiosks and halls set around four main courtyards. The Imperial Gate leads to the outer court, the Gate of Salutation to the second court with the Divan council hall and the vast palace kitchens, which display Chinese and Japanese porcelain. The Gate of Felicity opens onto the inner court, where the Audience Chamber, the library of Ahmed III and the treasury stand.

The Imperial Treasury holds the Topkapı Dagger and the Spoonmaker's Diamond, along with jewelled thrones and armour. The Privy Chamber displays the Sacred Relics, objects linked to the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets. The Harem, the private quarters of the sultan's family, has more than 300 rooms decorated with Iznik tiles and needs a separate ticket. The fourth courtyard has terraces and kiosks with views over the Bosphorus.

The palace is closed on Tuesdays. Plan at least three hours, and arrive at opening time to avoid the longest queues.

Only a fraction of the complex is open: the palace has hundreds of rooms, and only the most important, including the Harem and the Treasury, are shown to visitors. The Middle Gate leading to the second court was tightly controlled, and everyone except the sultan had to dismount there, since only he could ride through on horseback.

The kitchens are worth more time than most visitors give them. They date from the first building of the palace in the fifteenth century, were enlarged under Suleiman the Magnificent and were modelled on the kitchens of Edirne Palace. After a fire in 1574, Sultan Selim II gave the job of rebuilding to Mimar Sinan, who added the two rows of 20 wide chimneys that still line the roof along an internal street running toward the Sea of Marmara.

Recent digs on the palace grounds have turned up Roman and Byzantine finds, including sarcophagi, now displayed in the second court in front of the kitchens. Hagia Irene, the Byzantine church in the first court, can be added to the visit. Buy tickets from the official Turkish museums sales point or at the gate, and check the current price for the palace and the Harem before you go, as rates change often.