Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

The Topkapi Palace is located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is said to be the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans and has been here from the past four centuries, from a period of 1465 till 1853.The palace is a major tourist attraction now a days, when it was actually a place for official occasion of the state and an entertainment place. The Topkapi word literally means a ‘cannon gate palace’.

The construction of the palace began in the year 1459 by Sultan Mehmed II. The palace has four different courtyards and has a lot of other small buildings. The palace served as the residence for almost four thousands people. Over the years, the palace has seen many changes, expansions and destruction due to natural calamities like the earthquake and fire. And during the 17th century, the palace was being ignored by the ultanates’ as more importance was given to the new palaces. Only a few kind of functions were still taken place in some part of the palace, some of them being the library, mosque, imperial treasury etc.

During the year 1924, the palace was converted into a museum and was under direct supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In 1985, the palace belonged to the historic areas of Istanbul and became a part of the UNESCO, World Heritage center. The palace had a lot of rooms in it, however only a small part is available for tourist and public view. The palace has the Ottoman architecture all over with a big and a huge collocation of arms and weapons, miniatures, jewelry etc.

Topkapi Palace in Istanbul