The Topkapi Palace
The oldest and the largest of the remaining palaces in the world is the Topkapi Palace, a museum since 1924. The palace is located where the acropolis of Byzantium once stood on the peninsula overlooking the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace complex is 700,000 sq. m in area, surrounded by five kilometres of walls.
The Topkapi Palace is the second palace built by Turks in Istanbul. After young Sultan Mehmet II conquered the city in 1453 he had his first palace built at the site where the Istanbul University stands today. Soon afterward he ordered a new palace and in 1479, after 14 years of work, The Topkapi Palace (initially called the New Palace) was ready for occupancy as the Sultan's residence and centre of government
The Topkapi Palace is typical of Turkish palaces. The distinctive element of its plan is a series of open courtyards with trees in all of them to provide shade. All the courtyards are for different functions and are connected with one another by monumental doors. Functional buildings are arranged at the sides of courtyards. The palace plan today is not the some as when it was built, since many Sultans succeeding Mehmet the Conqueror have made additions and annexes.
In 1853 when the new and ostentatious Dolmabahce Palace was completed, the Topkapi Palace lost its status as the official palace and fell into oblivion. It was only after the Republic was founded that The Topkapi Palace was recalled, and cared for. The repair work that went on for more than fifty years finally restored The Topkapi Palace to its original inconspicuous beauty. Today it is used as a museum to exhibit works of art and many priceless artifacts, a museum with few rivals anywhere.
The functions of The Topkapi Palace while it was used as the official palace of Ottoman Sultans were quite different from those of most other palaces. Although it was primarily the residence of the incumbent sultan, it also served as the headquarters of the government where the cabinet of ministers met. It also housed the state mint and archives, as well as the highest institution of education of the realm, the university of the sultan and the state.
In other words, the palace was virtually the heart, the brain, the very centre of the Ottoman Empire in all senses. It was long after the construction of the palace that the Harem quarters were added to it. The Ottoman Empire was the largest and longest-lived of the sixteen sovereign empires Turks have founded at various times.
The giant empire that lasted for 622 years kept many countries by the shores of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea under its benevolent reign, merging many peoples of different races and religions. The only other empire in history ever to have kept such a vast realm for such a long time is the Roman Empire. During the course of the Ottoman Empire, 36 sultans came to the throne, and those reigning from the 16th century onwards also bore the title of Caliph, the religious head of Islam.
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