Edirne Sarayı (Sarayiçi)

Edirne Palace stood on Sarayiçi, the area northwest of the city where the Tunca River splits into two branches and encircles the land, and it was once one of the largest palaces of the Ottoman sultans. Sources call it Saray-ı Cedid-i Amire, the New Palace; it is also known as the Tunca Palace and the Palace of the Sultan's Garden. Wikipedia notes that it was the second largest Ottoman palace after Topkapı Palace in Istanbul. According to the Kültür Portalı, the palace spread over more than 300 thousand square metres on the banks of the Tunca. Construction began in 1450 under Murad II. Work paused for a while after the sultan's death, continued under his son Mehmed the Conqueror and the palace was completed in 1475. According to an account based on Evliya Çelebi, the site had been a hunting ground before the conquest and had been known since the time of Murad I as a corner where the sultans came to rest. Because the islet formed by the river offered natural protection, the palace was built without high defensive walls and was surrounded only by a plain wall. Over the centuries the palace grew with the buildings each sultan added. The Kültür Portalı describes the era of Suleiman the Magnificent and Mimar Sinan as the palace's second great building phase. Sinan connected a branch of the Taşlımüsellim water supply he brought to the city to the palace, and with an arc-shaped canal dug against floods he surrounded the palace grounds with a second waterway. The private garden of the sultans, the Hasbahçe, took shape in the section between the river and this canal. Suleiman redefined the main entrance of the palace by building a bridge over the canal on the axis of the Fatih Bridge. At the heart of the palace stood the Cihannüma Pavilion, also called Taht-ı Hümayun, built by Mehmed the Conqueror. Around the pavilion were the Privy Chamber, the palace library, the apartment of the Holy Banner, the Audience Chamber and the apartments of the sultan, the queen mother and the princes. In front of the Audience Chamber stood the Babüssaade, also known as the Gate of the White Eunuchs. Turkish Archaeological News reports that at its height the palace consisted of 72 buildings, including 18 baths. The palace saw its liveliest years under Mehmed IV; the sultan, known for his passion for hunting, spent most of his time in Edirne. Archival documents show that circumcision feasts, holiday festivities, archery and wrestling contests were held at the palace. When Ahmed III returned to Istanbul in 1718, the palace entered a long period of neglect. Earthquakes and fires that struck the city in the 18th century badly damaged the buildings. The Russian army that entered Edirne in 1829 used the palace grounds as a military camp, and the wooden sections were largely destroyed at that time. The buildings, used as an arsenal since the early 19th century, were blown up in explosions lasting three days during the war of 1877-1878, when the ammunition stored around the Babüssaade was set on fire so that it would not fall into enemy hands. The stones of the ruins were later reused in other buildings around the city. Among the structures still standing today are the stone body of the Cihannüma Pavilion, the Babüssaade, the palace kitchen known as Matbah-ı Amire, the Kum Kasrı Bath and the Pavilion of Justice. The Pavilion of Justice is a square tower of cut stone with a pyramidal roof, built for Suleiman by Mimar Sinan in 1561, and it has survived largely intact. In the middle of its top floor there is a marble fountain. The Matbah-ı Amire is a rectangular building in three sections covered with domes, with four brick hearths inside. The Kum Kasrı Bath, built of alternating courses of rough stone and brick, is one of the few structures surviving from the time of Mehmed the Conqueror. The first scholarly survey of the site was carried out in 1956, excavations continued at intervals after 1999, and during this process the restorations of the Babüssaade, the Matbah-ı Amire and the Pavilion of Justice were completed. Since excavation and revival works are still going on, some sections may be closed to visitors; check the current situation with official sources before you go. The Tavuk Ormanı to the north of the site is a grove once used as the palace hunting ground, and according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism brochure it contains a hunting lodge from the reign of Mehmed IV. Sarayiçi is also home to the arena where the Kırkpınar oil wrestling contests are held. The palace is reached from the city side over the Kanuni Bridge and from the northern branch over the three-arched Fatih Bridge, dated 1452. You can walk here from the Selimiye area northwards towards the Tunca or come by a short drive. The site is large and open, so comfortable shoes and protection from the sun in summer will make your visit easier. The ruined body of the Cihannüma Pavilion, with the lawn and trees around it, is the most photographed corner of the site.