Browse Items (337 total)

First courtyard in Topkapı, the only area that was open to the public. Sultans walked through it on their way to Friday prayers and other ceremonies. It was also used as waiting area for important political events such as the reception of foreign…

minarets

Façade of Dolmabahçe Palace, first European-style palace in Istanbul, and which replaced the Topkapı as the main sultan residence and administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 until 1922.

Painting showing a prince being offered wine by his consort, with attendant concubines and dancers in the imperial harem.

Blue and white Chinese plate in the Topkapi collection. Ch'i-lin motif. 14th century.

Map of Constantinople in 1882

Portrait of Sultan Abdul Mecid I, who in 1856 moved the court from Toptaki to Dolmabahçe Palace