Topkapı Palace, Courtyard by Courtyard

Topkapı Palace stands at the tip of the historic peninsula, on Sarayburnu, the point that looks over the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn at once. Mehmed II built it between 1460 and 1478, and it kept growing with buildings added by later sultans until the middle of the 19th century. For a long time it was called Saray-ı Cedid-i Amire, the New Palace, to distinguish it from the old palace at Beyazıt. The name Topkapı came later, from a gatehouse pavilion on the sea side that had cannon placed on either side of it.

For some 380 years the palace was the seat of government and the official residence of the sultans. It did not lose its importance even after the dynasty moved to Dolmabahçe Palace in the mid-19th century. Accession and funeral ceremonies continued to be held here until the end of the sultanate, and every year on the fifteenth day of Ramadan the sultans came to Topkapı to visit the Holy Mantle. Turned into a museum on 3 April 1924, the palace is the first museum of the Republic, and since 2019 it has been run by the National Palaces Administration. Today it covers about 350,000 square metres, not counting Gülhane Park.

This article walks through the palace from the outer gate to the innermost pavilions, courtyard by courtyard, in the same order in which the life of the palace became more private the further in you went. For each section it notes what to look at, and it closes with tips on planning your visit.

How the Palace Works

The key to understanding Topkapı is to see it not as a single building but as a sequence of nested courtyards and gates. In terms of organisation it is described in four parts. The Birun was the service and guard area, the Divan-ı Hümayun the seat of government, the Enderun the palace school and the sultan's private quarters, and the Harem the private world where the sultan lived with his family.

Three monumental gates separate these parts. The first is the Bab-ı Hümayun (Imperial Gate), the second the Babüsselam (Gate of Salutation) and the third the Babüssaade (Gate of Felicity). With each gate, fewer people were allowed through. The first courtyard was open to the public and the soldiers, the second was where the state was governed, the third was the sultan's home, and the fourth, with the sultan's pavilions and gardens, was the most private of all. The Harem forms a world of its own on the left side of the second and third courtyards, facing the Golden Horn.

The main plan of the palace is thought to have been influenced by the palace at Edirne. Service buildings are mostly stone, single-storey and high-domed, while residential buildings were made of stone and timber with lead-covered domes. Walking through the courtyards in order, you can follow this change in architecture step by step.

The Imperial Gate and the First Courtyard

The main entrance, the Bab-ı Hümayun, rises behind Ayasofya. It is the largest of the three great gates in the palace walls, the Sur-ı Sultani, built by Mehmed II. The inscription above it is dated 1478 and signed by the calligrapher Ali bin Yahya es-Sufi. The gate was originally a two-storey gatehouse pavilion. Its upper floor was pulled down after it was damaged by fire and earthquake in the second half of the 19th century.

Through the gate you enter the broad first courtyard, known as the Alay Meydanı. This was the area of the units and staff who met the palace's needs, and also a square that the public and soldiers could enter. During accession and festival ceremonies the retinues of statesmen and the Janissaries waited here. On one side stood the palace hospital, a water wheel and bakeries, on the other a woodyard, the mint and storehouses. Near the second gate stood a small octagonal pavilion with a tower, the Deavi Kasrı, where people who wanted to bring a problem before the council or the sultan handed their petitions to an official.

The first courtyard is also home to Aya İrini (Hagia Eirene), a building surviving from the Byzantine period that was used after the conquest as an arsenal. In 1846 the weapons kept there were arranged into a collection of old arms and antiquities, which the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam counts as the first museum in Istanbul and in Türkiye. Aya İrini can be visited as a museum today and is included in the Topkapı Palace combined ticket.

The Gate of Salutation

The Babüsselam at the entrance to the second courtyard, with its two pointed towers, is the most familiar image of the palace. Made up of two gateways one behind the other with rooms between them, it was where state ceremonies began. Some scholars link the shape of the towers to Süleyman the Magnificent's observations on his European campaigns, while Gülru Necipoğlu, who has studied Topkapı extensively, believes the towers were built together with the walls under Mehmed II.

On the mornings of council meetings the space in front of this gate was busy. Senior gatekeepers and heralds received the statesmen here, the viziers waited for one another in order of rank, and the salute heralds conducted the exchange of greetings. After this ceremony the statesmen went in while their own officials stayed outside. The large retinues of foreign envoys could also come only as far as this gate. No one but the sultan could ride through it on horseback, so the first courtyard was also where the horses and grooms waited.

The Second Courtyard, the Council Square

The courtyard between the Babüsselam and the Babüssaade is where the state was run, and it is also known as the Divan Meydanı or Square of Justice. Because of the ceremonies held here, especially in the 16th century, it had few trees. According to miniatures and the accounts of people who came with envoys, gazelles and roe deer roamed the courtyard. One of the narrow paved paths is known as the "vizier's path", taken by statesmen on their way to the council.

The Kubbealtı in the upper left corner of the courtyard is the council hall where state business was discussed and decided. Built under Mehmed II, it was renovated by İbrahim Pasha, grand vizier to Süleyman the Magnificent. For a time the council met every day of the week, later four days a week. The grand vizier, viziers, chief judges, treasurers and the chancellor were its core members, and meetings began right after the dawn prayer. The Tower of Justice rising just behind the Kubbealtı can be seen from all over the palace. Its base dates from the time of Mehmed II, while its present appearance is largely from the reign of Mahmud II. Through a latticed window in the wall opposite the council chamber, the sultan could follow the meetings without being seen.

The multi-domed building behind the Kubbealtı was the state's official treasury. Today it holds an exhibition of around 400 weapons, most of them of high quality and richly decorated. Among the swords, maces, bows, shields, helmets, armour and guns is a ceremonial sword that belonged to Mehmed II.

The right side of the courtyard belongs to the kitchens. Behind a long portico, these buildings are easy to recognise from outside by their conical domes and chimneys. Their foundations were laid with the original palace, but their present appearance dates from after the fire of 1574, when Mimar Sinan rebuilt them on their original structure. With nine hearths and a confectionery kitchen, they could turn out meals for 1500 to 3000 people a day, and more on council days and at receptions for envoys. Today the kitchens display the Chinese and Japanese ceramics used in the palace, with metal kitchenware in the confectionery and sherbet rooms. The buildings opposite house the palace's European porcelain and silverware.

In the lower left part of the courtyard are the royal stables, where the sultan's most valuable horses were kept, and the harness treasury. Next to them the dormitory of the halberdiers, with its mosque, bath and rooms arranged around a courtyard, looks like a small neighbourhood. The entrance to the Harem is also in this courtyard, opening beside the Kubbealtı.

The Gate of Felicity and the Audience Chamber

The third gate, the Babüssaade, is the entrance to the Enderun, the sultan's private realm. It was also called the Gate of the White Eunuchs or the Gate of Audience. Believed to date back to the reign of Mehmed II, it was given its present appearance under Abdülhamid I in 1774-1775. The tughra of Mahmud II sits on the keystone of the arch.

Throughout Ottoman history the Babüssaade was the setting for accession ceremonies. Whatever the weather, the throne was set up in front of this gate, the new sultan passed through it to sit on the throne, and the leading men of the state pledged allegiance here. The last sultan to be enthroned in front of this gate was Mehmed VI. On religious festivals a festival throne was placed here as well and congratulations were received. In times of war the sultan handed the Holy Banner to the commander-in-chief in front of this gate. The socket in which the banner pole was set into the ground is still there, covered by a slab of marble, so look down at the pavement as you pass.

Beyond the Babüssaade no one could go further without permission. The Arz Odası, the Audience Chamber facing you as you enter, is where the sultan received his viziers, dignitaries and foreign envoys. Built under Mehmed II and renovated many times, it is thought to keep its 15th-century base. It is surrounded by a portico of marble columns under wide eaves, and inside are a throne, a fireplace and a fountain. The throne dates from the late 16th century, and its jewelled coverings were changed according to the importance of the visiting envoy. On council days, statesmen meeting the sultan here was called "going to audience". First the Janissary commander went in, then the chief judges, and finally the grand vizier and the viziers.

The Third Courtyard, the Enderun

The third courtyard belongs to the palace school, the Enderun, and is also called the Enderun Square. Palace pages were trained and lived in the dormitories around it. The dormitories had their own hierarchy, rising from the Small and Large Chambers through the Campaign, Pantry and Treasury chambers to the Privy Chamber at the top.

Just behind the Audience Chamber stands the Enderun Library, built by Ahmed III in the style of the Tulip Era and endowed to the palace pages. Raised on a high base, it has a domed centre with three iwans and is decorated with tiles, with a large fountain beneath the landing of its stairs. The Mosque of the Ağas on one side of the courtyard dates from the reign of Mehmed II and now serves as the palace library, holding about 14,000 manuscripts. The Campaign Chamber (Seferli Koğuşu) is where the sultans' clothing is displayed, including their everyday and ceremonial garments and fabrics used in the palace. A room formed in the 19th century by enclosing the portico of the Privy Chamber is used as a hall of sultans' portraits.

One word of warning. As the TDV notes, the museum's exhibition halls change from time to time and may be closed for restoration or other reasons. If there is a section you particularly want to see, check its status before you go.

The Treasury

The Treasury Pavilion in the upper right corner of the third courtyard is also known as the Pavilion of Mehmed II. Built by the sultan while the palace was under construction, it has served as the palace treasury from the start. The most famous pieces displayed here are four thrones, aigrettes and plumes that were symbols of sovereignty, jewelled book covers, the Topkapı Dagger and the Spoonmaker's Diamond.

The story of the Topkapı Dagger is interesting in its own right. It was made in 1746 on the orders of Mahmud I as a peace gift for the Persian ruler Nader Shah. The embassy carrying it was still on the road in 1747 when news came that Nader Shah had been killed, and it returned to Istanbul with the gift. The dagger, about 35 centimetres long, has three large emeralds on its gold hilt. When the octagonal emerald lid at the end of the handle is lifted, a small watch appears beneath it.

The Spoonmaker's Diamond (Kaşıkçı Elması) weighs 86 carats and is surrounded by a double row of 49 smaller diamonds. When and how it entered the treasury, and where its name comes from, are not known for certain. All the stories in circulation, including the one about it being traded for spoons, are legends. It is also thought that the name may come from its oval cut, which resembles a spoon.

Because the Treasury is one of the busiest parts of the palace, it can be hard not to feel rushed in front of the showcases. Starting early and making the Treasury one of your first stops makes things easier.

The Sacred Relics

In the upper left corner of the third courtyard, the four-domed stone building backing onto the Harem is the Privy Chamber (Has Oda). Built in the 15th century with a four-part layout, it was the sultans' private residence in the men's section of the palace. After the sacred relics were brought here in the reign of Selim I, it came to be known mostly as the Chamber of the Holy Mantle (Hırka-i Saadet Dairesi). Today it is visited as the Sacred Relics section, and its walls are covered with tiles of different periods.

Kept here are relics from the early period of Islamic history, above all the mantle and banner held to have belonged to the Prophet Muhammad, swords of the first caliphs and objects the sultans endowed to Mecca and Medina over the centuries. For centuries the relics were kept in precious cases and the Quran was recited continuously beside them. According to the TDV this tradition continues today. Visit this section quietly, wait your turn and dress respectfully.

The Fourth Courtyard and Its Pavilions

Behind the third courtyard lies the fourth, the Sofa-i Hümayun. This is the realm of the sultans' pavilions, hanging gardens and marble terraces with pools, and the most peaceful corner of the palace.

Murad IV built the Revan (Yerevan) Pavilion on his return from the Yerevan campaign of 1635. Octagonal with three iwans, it has an exterior faced with coloured stone and tiles dominated by blue. It was put to various uses later and was turned into a library under Mahmud I. The Baghdad Pavilion is also Murad IV's, built to commemorate the recapture of Baghdad in 1638, and it must have been completed during 1639. The TDV counts it, having survived without losing its original form, among the masterpieces of Turkish pavilion architecture. Inside, look at the tiled walls and the cupboard doors and window shutters inlaid with mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell.

On the same marble terrace stands the İftar Bower (İftariye Kameriyesi) with its gilded roof. This small open pavilion looks over the Golden Horn, and the sultan is said to have broken his Ramadan fast here. The terrace took its present form under Sultan İbrahim. The nearby Circumcision Room was also added in the 17th century and is famous for the tile panels of different periods that cover its facade.

The other buildings of the fourth courtyard are worth a look in their own right. The wooden Sofa Pavilion, set against the wall of the Tulip Garden, is also known as the Mustafa Pasha Pavilion and has couplets by the poet Hakani Mehmed Bey written on its walls. The oldest building in the courtyard, the Chief Physician's Room, dates from the 15th century and is a tower where the palace's chief physician worked and which served for a time as a pharmacy. The Mecidiye Pavilion in front of the terrace facing the Sea of Marmara was built by Sultan Abdülmecid in the 1850s and is the last pavilion of the palace. After the sultans moved to the Bosphorus palaces, they used it as a reception hall when they came to Topkapı for ceremonies. The Sofa Mosque beside it is the only place in the palace open for worship today.

The Harem

The Harem is a separate cluster of buildings that begins at its entrance in the second courtyard and spreads towards the Golden Horn. Its layout and growth go back largely to the long reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, and additions continued from the late 16th century to the mid-19th century. Rooms and pavilions added as they were needed turned this part of the palace into a tangled, interlocking complex. The Harem was home to the sultan's mother, the valide sultan, his consorts, daughters, sisters and other relatives, together with their servants, all of whom answered to the chief eunuch (Darüssaade ağası). Only some of its rooms are open to visitors.

The visit begins at the Carriage Gate (Arabalar Kapısı). The first space is the Domed Cupboard Room, built by Murad III in 1587 as an entrance hall to the Harem, where the harem treasury also operated. Next come the Hall with the Fountain, its walls lined with 17th-century Kütahya tiles, and the courtyard of the eunuchs lined with their dormitories. On the upper floor of this courtyard was the school where the princes were educated. The main gate at the end of the courtyard opens into the Harem proper, where the family lived.

The courtyard and apartments of the valide sultan form, together with the sultan's apartments, the largest and most important section of the Harem. They were established when the valide sultan moved to Topkapı from the Old Palace in the late 16th century and rebuilt after the great fire of 1665. From here you pass to the baths of the sultan and the valide sultan. This double bath dates from the late 16th century and was redecorated in the Rococo style in the mid-18th century.

The Imperial Hall (Hünkar Sofası) has the largest dome in the palace. This is where the sultan received his family, intimates and guests, and where festival greetings and weddings took place. Its walls were redecorated in the 18th century with Delft tiles and Venetian mirrors, but classical paintings from the original building survive on the dome arch and pendentives.

Perhaps the finest room in the Harem is the Privy Chamber of Murad III, designed by Mimar Sinan. Largely preserving its original interior, it is lined with İznik tiles of the 1570s in blue, white and coral red. Opposite the great fireplace with its gilded hood is a two-tiered fountain of coloured marble, whose sound both gave the room a calm atmosphere and made conversations harder to overhear. The neighbouring Privy Chamber of Ahmed I stands out for its cupboard doors and shutters inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory, and the small room of Ahmed III for the bowls of flowers and fruit painted on its walls, which is why it is called the Fruit Room.

The Twin Pavilions, also known as the apartments of the crown prince, consist of two rooms built at different times in the 17th century. The painted decoration of their wooden domes is original. Just beyond are the Courtyard of the Favourites overlooking the Boxwood Garden and the Golden Road (Altın Yol), the axis of the Harem. This narrow 15th-century passage runs between the eunuchs' courtyard and the Privy Chamber. The Harem tour usually ends by leaving through the Aviary Gate (Kuşhane Kapısı) into the third courtyard.

Planning Your Visit

According to the palace's official page, it is closed on Tuesdays. It may also be closed on some public and religious holidays, so check the current visiting information on the National Palaces website before you go. Opening hours and ticket prices can change too, so always confirm the figures on the official site.

Here is what to know about ticket types.

• The official site lists a combined ticket covering Topkapı Palace, Aya İrini and the Harem, and states that it is valid on the day of purchase.
• The official site states that the Museum Card (Müze Kart) is valid at many sites run by the National Palaces, but not in the Harem and Aya İrini sections of Topkapı Palace. If you have the card, keep this in mind.
• The conditions for age and student discounts are also set out in detail on the official site.

You can walk to the palace from Sultanahmet. The official address is Babıhümayun Caddesi No 1 in the Cankurtaran district, and the Bab-ı Hümayun stands on this street behind Ayasofya. It is within walking distance of the Sultanahmet and Gülhane stops of the T1 tram line. Gülhane Park, once the palace's own garden, stretches just outside the palace walls and is a good place to rest after your visit.

Allow at least half a day for the palace including the Harem. If you want to take your time, start early. See the busiest sections, the Treasury and the Sacred Relics, first, then move on to the Harem, and finish the day on the terraces of the fourth courtyard looking out over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. In summer you will spend long stretches walking in the open between courtyards, and in winter some interiors can be cool.

If you want to see Topkapı as part of a day's programme, Radar's classic Sultanahmet route combines the palace with Ayasofya, the Basilica Cistern and Gülhane Park. For those who want to follow how Ottoman palace architecture changed from Topkapı to Dolmabahçe and the Bosphorus pavilions, there is a route on that changing taste. For general information on museum tickets, see Radar's article on what to know about museum tickets, and for Ayasofya right next door, our article on its fifteen centuries.

Sources

• National Palaces Administration (Milli Saraylar), Topkapı Sarayı, https://www.millisaraylar.gov.tr/Lokasyon/2/Topkapi-Sarayi
• TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Topkapı Sarayı, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/topkapi-sarayi
• TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/topkapi-sarayi-muzesi
• TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Babüssaade, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/babussaade
• TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Bağdat Köşkü, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bagdat-kosku
• TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Revan Köşkü, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/revan-kosku
• Wikipedia (Turkish), Topkapı Sarayı, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Saray%C4%B1
• Wikipedia (Turkish), Kaşıkçı Elması, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%C5%9F%C4%B1k%C3%A7%C4%B1_Elmas%C4%B1
• Wikipedia (Turkish), Topkapı Hançeri, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Han%C3%A7eri
• Wikipedia, Topkapı Palace, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace
• Wikipedia, T1 (Istanbul Tram), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T1_(Istanbul_Tram)