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Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul – History & Attractions

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Welcome to our massive article about one of Istanbul’s (and the world’s) most famous landmarks; the residence of the Ottoman sultans, Topkapı Palace.

Visitors outside an autumnal-looking Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.
Approaching the entrance to the grounds of Topkapı Palace

We’re taking you on a tour of the palace’s decadent interior, intricately designed tiles and stained glass windows.

We’re taking a peek at harem life in Topkapı Palace; home to the sultans’ wives and children and out of bounds to the outside world.

A place of true mystery and intrigue.

Then we’ll tour the gardens and the grounds of Topkapı Palace. We’ll admire the views along the Bosphorus from the palace walls.

Well, a sultan was never going to leave himself without views over his Istanbul, was he?

After that come the modern day practicalities.

If we’ve whet your appetite and you’re itching to see Topkapı Palace, what is all this splendour going to cost you to see for yourself.

And when can you visit?

Let’s take a Topkapı Palace tour…

Inside Topkapı Palace, Istanbul

Intricate ceiling decor in beautiful reds, blues and greens. A gilded globe dangles from the blue centrepiece.
Gilded globes hang in many of the rooms, a symbol of the sultan watching over the world

Let’s just tell you something, right now.

When you’re walking around each of the Topkapı Palace rooms, you quickly realise it’s all about walls and ceilings and stained glass windows.

A stiff neck from constantly looking up combines with the making of present day mental notes; dreamily decorating bits of your kitchen and bathroom.

Not that the tiles in our kitchen or bathroom remotely resemble any of these tiles. But, you know, one day…

Six bright windows surrounded by intricate tiles in the circumcision room at Topkapı Palace.
The circumcision room in Topkapı Palace

But let’s get back to a little bit of the history of Topkapı Palace.

Much more interesting than our kitchen and bathroom!

The Circumcision Room

The tiles in the photo above, for instance, are decorating the walls of the Circumcision Room, which is a separate building in the palace grounds, built in 1640.

Sure all the observers of the circumcision enjoyed their tiled surroundings much more than the young male being circumcised…

More intricate blue tiles above a bright red seating area with four cushions.
Many rooms in Topkapı Palace are quite small and some walls are 10 feet thick

Topkapı Palace and the grounds were almost a world within a world.

Apparently, at full size, the whole complex could host up to 4,000 people.

Topkapı Palace was not just a home to the Ottoman rulers. But also the centre from which the Ottoman Empire was governed.

Where battles were planned. And where politics was discussed.

Where the administrative affairs of the empire were organised.

And where religious affairs were organised and laws created and foreign dignitaries hosted.

And, of course, there was much intrigue, paranoia and betrayal as those with ambition attempted to climb the power ladder.

Ahhh, to be able to drop back in time a few hundred years and spend a day – invisible – just watching, watching.

Fascinating!

The Kubbealtı area of the circumcision room in Topkapı Palace. A cushioned red seating area is below a decorative arch.
The Kubbealtı

This chamber here, for instance, is the Kubbealtı in the Imperial Council building where the Imperial Council would gather to meet.

The sultan of the time needed to be able to trust his viziers and other chief staff. But it didn’t always work like that, of course.

Palace Intrigue

See the Golden Window just above the sofa?

The sultan would sit behind this, discreetly, so he could watch and listen to what was going on in the council chamber.

As the plotting of the downfall of various sultans and others in the palace happened throughout Ottoman rule, this plotting was either done very cleverly. Or it happened elsewhere.

All gold and yellow patterns as a gilded globe dangles in the Imperial Divan secretarial chamber.
Gilded globe in the Imperial Divan secretarial chamber

And there’s so much more to see as you explore the various rooms of Topkapı Palace.

There’s centuries of history here.

Rooms and chambers built at various stages throughout the Ottoman dynasty.

There are a few chambers closed to the public. There are also chambers where photography is forbidden.

That’s a good thing because it means you can go to see for yourself. But these rooms are only one little part of the Topkapı Palace experience.

What else is it that interests so many people who visit Topkapı Palace?

Topkapı Palace – The Harem

What about where the sultan of the time, along with his wives, children, mother and siblings, lived?

Yes, this is the famous Topkapı Palace Harem and this is where ‘Barry and Julia practicalities’ stepped in when we visited.

We were at Topkapı Palace because we’d bought a Müzekart. Entrance to Topkapı Palace is free if you have one of those.

But, if you want to see the Harem, you still need to fork out a further fee. Hmm, did our budget justify us paying the extra fee for both of us?

Well, these are the type of money questions we’re always asking when we’re away.

And, on this occasion, Barry volunteered to wait on the bench outside enjoying the gardens whilst I went inside to explore…

Entrance to the Topkapı Palace Harem. Columns are to the right and a arched doorway is under blue tiles.
Entering the secretive passages of the harem

And just like when I went into Izmir Agora on my own, instantly the Harem felt more ‘real’ than the rest of the palace.

Even a bit spooky. An ornate prison.

It seems lots of people had opted not to pay the extra entrance fee so the crowds of visitors around Topkapı Palace had thinned further still.

Walls 10 feet thick in places, beautifully tiled as they are, made me feel quite claustrophobic.

And, straight away, you’re transported to wondering what life was like for those in this section of the palace.

Harem Entrance, Topkapı Palace. Marble & stone underneath gilded Ottoman lettering.
Walkways and gilded entrances around the Harem

Harem Life

No bed of roses, that’s for sure.

In earlier Ottoman days, the sultan who wanted to make sure he kept the throne obviously didn’t want any meddling brothers hanging around lest they themselves fancied being in charge.

Fratricide was seen as the best method to reduce the threat of the annoying sibling.

Later, however, a change in strategy meant the potential threat of ambitious siblings was reduced by effectively imprisoning brothers within a section of the harem.

If anything happened to the sultan then the sibling could be released to take up reign of the Ottoman empire.

All of a sudden, you can see how these walls become imposing and claustrophobic.

And, indeed, by the time their services were needed, some of these siblings had completely lost the plot.

Quite literally, they had gone stir crazy and were unfit to rule.

A Harem room in Topkapı Palace. More ornate tiles in various shades of blue and green.
Rooms are smaller than you might expect but fantastically ornate

Anyway, back to the living quarters.

The Harem of Topkapı Palace is quite a large area and only small sections of it are open to the public.

In days gone by, if you wanted to visit here as a tourist, you needed to get to the Topkapı Palace ticket office early and book your ticket for a guided tour at an allotted time.

Once the tickets were gone, that was it.

That has now changed and you can just buy your ticket at the Harem entrance and wander around at your leisure.

Fountain of the privy chamber of Murad III.
The fountain of the privy chamber of Murad III

There was restoration work going on when we were there.

And, from photos we’ve seen in the past, there were parts of the Harem closed that have previously been open to visitors.

That’s why repeat visits to places like Topkapı Palace are never boring – you can remind yourself of why you enjoyed it so much in the first place, see things you missed first time round.

And if you’re anything like us, you enjoy it more than your previous visit.

Mimar Sinan

That was my experience on this visit.

The fountain in the photo above is from the oldest room in the Harem; a room designed by Mimar Sinan; he of Süleymaniye Mosque architecture fame (amongst others).

The sound of the water flowing from the fountain prevented nosy people in the palace from eavesdropping on private conversations.

There’s that paranoia again…

Views of Istanbul through metalwork at Topkapı's Harem area.
View of modern day Istanbul through a centuries old grill of the Harem

We had left a ten year gap between our visits to Topkapı Palace.

And, in that time, we’ve done lots of reading on both modern day Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.

We’re also older and (hopefully) a tad wiser.

No two visits are ever the same because you get different experiences each time; a whole new perspective.

A very ornate bedroom in the Harem section.
You feel like you’re intruding on someone’s private space as you wander the Harem

And that’s why Barry preferred to sit on a bench in the gardens to wait for me while I entered the Harem.

We’d both forgotten how much we’d enjoyed the gardens on our first visit. But I really wanted to see where the sultan, his eunuchs and his ladies spent their time.

And, rather than rooms being few in number and spacious, it’s surprising how numerous, small and intimate they are.

Arched architecture outside the Valide Sultan Apartments at the palace.
Apartments of the Queen Mother – Valide Sultan Dairesi

As you can see here.

This is the courtyard of the apartments of the queen mother. These apartments date from the 1570s and were the living quarters of she who gave birth to a son who ascended to the throne.

Of course, room for her entourage was necessary, too, hence the size of this area.

I was in the Harem for perhaps 90 minutes or so. It’s a bit of a maze and signs guide you around the site.

And the entrance and the exit are two completely different doorways in two completely different parts of the palace gardens. And I have absolutely no sense of direction.

Poor Barry had another wait on his hands while I tried to negotiate my way back to his bench!

Topkapı Palace – The Gardens

The grounds and gardens of Topkapı Palace are just a really pleasant place to be.

Well, if you’re the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, you’re not going to go and build yourself a palace with rubbish surroundings, are you?

Garden areas outside Topkapı. Bare autumnal trees are in the foreground.
The gardens around the entrance to Topkapı Palace

So, when you’re there, it’s not just a case of going from room to room being entranced by the beauty and detail of the Iznik tiles and rich decoration.

It’s also about the whole area.

As in the photo above, before you even need to part with your Topkapı Palace entrance fee, you head through the main palace gate and into what used to be one of the courtyards.

Now lawns, pathways and ancient trees, you could enjoy a few moments away from the crowds, here…

That’s what we were doing when we took the photo above.

It was our last morning on one of our trips to Istanbul and we were enjoying the autumn sunshine away from the Sultanahmet masses around here and Gülhane Park.

It was a different day altogether when we actually went inside the palace grounds and gardens.

Not a sunbeam in sight, as you’ll see in some of the photos.

A fountain outside the circumcision room. Red leaves on trees frame the image.
Fountains in the gardens of Topkapı Palace

Topkapı Palace – Queues & Crowds

A lot of people who visit Topkapı Palace talk about the queues and the crowds – which isn’t surprising, is it?

If it’s your first visit to Istanbul, you’re likely there to see Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) and Topkapı Palace.

They’re all next to each other; three of the world’s most famous tourist sights within minimal walking distance.

No wonder they’re so packed.

And we’re not pretending we had the place to ourselves when we visited Topkapı Palace. Far from it.

But, if you want to soak up the palace and grounds and enjoy the splendour with minimal people fuss, what we’ve noticed over the years is that autumn and winter visits are going to be your best bets.

Don’t worry about potential lack of sunshine. Autumn trees or winter snow all make for wonderfully atmospheric Topkapı Palace scenes.

Museum garden areas with green trees in the foreground.
The grounds of Topkapı Palace

There are slightly fewer people around so you can enjoy the palace’s autumn gardens and take photos. Without having thousands of other tourists aimlessly wandering through your shots.

Looking back at these photos now, I can’t believe how lucky we were, really, to visit Topkapı Palace at this time of year.

A touch of good management – but also good luck, too. As we’re usually in Istanbul in November for the Istanbul Marathon.

Crowds of people outside one of the Topkapı Palace buildings in Istanbul.
Topkapı Palace splendour

Depending on how interested you are in all the ornaments and other possessions that filled the home of the Ottoman rulers, you can spend a good few hours here.

Official Residence

Topkapı Palace was built between 1459 and 1465, and was the official residence right up until 1853 when a move to Dolmabahçe Palace was made.

The Ottomans obviously amassed a lot of riches.

Much of this is in evidence in the jewellery, clocks, weapons and clothing on display today.

A white ferry sails across the Bosphorus in choppy-looking waters. A bridge spans the background.
Bosphorus and city wall views from Topkapı Palace

The first time we visited Topkapı Palace, the famous palace kitchens were open. And various kitchen crockery and utensils were on display.

The Ottoman kitchens were world famous and many of the culinary creations that were placed at the sultan’s table – hünkar beğendi and imam bayıldı, for example – are still a major part of modern Turkish cuisine, today.

Being keen cooks, the kitchens were one of our favourite parts of the palace. We spent a long time in this area.

If the palace could host 4,000 people, you can just imagine how big the kitchens needed to be.

And we were looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with it on this visit.

As with many museums, however, displays have been rearranged and swapped around.

Areas are closed off from time to time for restoration. So no kitchens for Barry and Julia on this occasion as the room was closed to the public.

Holy Relics – The Staff of Moses & Prophet Muhammad’s Sword?

Still much to while away our time with, though.

Because, we’ll be honest; we enjoyed Topkapı Palace on both visits because of the surroundings.

The views down the Bosphorus towards the Bosphorus Bridge – we hovered around this section of the palace for some time.

It’s whatever does it for you.

Rooms with diamonds, jewel-encrusted clocks and daggers only manage to keep us occupied for a matter of minutes. Especially when photographs are forbidden.

But Topkapı Palace lays claim to be the home of Islamic and other holy relics such as the Staff of Moses and Prophet Muhammad’s sword and footprint.

Visitors take photographs under beautiful archways at Topkapı Palace. There are two mundane benches in the foreground.
Topkapı Palace, Turkey

The great outdoors of Topkapı Palace is what does it for us.

The architecture, the decorative paintwork, the ceramic tiles, the marble.

All set amongst ancient cypress trees, gardens and the backdrop of the Bosphorus.

Autumnal trees under decorative archways.
Autumnal Topkapı Palace

And, over the years, we’ve learned to forgive ourselves a little when we’re looking around sights like this.

While we loved the kitchens of Topkapı Palace on our first visit, and enjoyed the setting, we were kind of left with a feeling of, ‘well-we’re-not-blown-away-and-everyone-else-seems-to-be-so-is-it-just-us.’

Well, ten years later and ten years older, whether that’s ‘just us,’ or not is now irrelevant.

A red-leafed tree shades a carved stone structure.
Just enjoying Topkapı Palace

Topkapı Palace was home to one of the world’s most powerful dynasties for four centuries.

And, while in the 21st century, rooms with glass cabinet displays might not really capture our imagination, personally, we’re perfectly happy with that.

It doesn’t matter.

Every person who enjoys their visits to Topkapı Palace, enjoys them for their own reasons.

For us, it’s soaking up the grounds, the setting and the architecture of the palace that evokes some sense of the significance of the Ottomans in world history…

Topkapı Palace Facts & Info

  • Topkapı Palace is in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul and is open every day except Tuesday. Reserve another day for a visit to Hagia Sophia or the nearby, superbly atmospheric Basilica Cistern which supplied water to the palace for a short time.
  • Autumn and winter are less crowded. We visited in late autumn and were rewarded with beautiful garden scenery.
  • Topkapı Palace opening hours are from 09:00 – 18:00. The palace is open year round.
  • According to the official website, Hagia Irene is now also open to visitors for a separate entrance fee.
  • Clothing: Be aware that there is a section of the palace housing very important sacred Islamic relics. You need to wear appropriate clothing – no shorts, mini skirts, strapless tops, etc. Basically, make sure your legs and shoulders are covered.
  • The palace is part of a cluster of Istanbul buildings that are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.
  • A combined ticket (Topkapı Palace+Harem+Hagia Irene) is currently 1,700 TL (October 2024). Check the latest entry fees on the official Turkish Museums website here.
  • If you have a Müze Kart+, entrance to Topkapı Palace is free. There is, however, still an extra fee for entrance to the Harem.
  • If you’re in Istanbul to tour all the sights, it might be worth you investing in a Museum Pass to save money. These can be bought online, from mobile booths in Sultanahmet or from museums which are part of the scheme. Once activated, they are valid for 5 consecutive days.

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Natasha Sen

Tuesday 13th of June 2017

Turkey is on my Bucket List, I'll be there soon ... I only heard about Topkapı Palace, can you share some more amazing places to visit in Turkey...

Turkey's For Life

Friday 16th of June 2017

Lots of places to see in Turkey as well as the beautiful Topkapı Palace. Here some of the areas we've covered so far: https://www.turkeysforlife.com/turkey/travel/places-to-see

Alina Jack

Thursday 14th of July 2016

Hey, Nice Pictures of Topkapi Palace. You have beautifully explored and click the pictures. But I have one question in my mind. Harem means "The Bathing Area" of the Royals?

Turkey's For Life

Wednesday 15th of February 2017

Thanks a lot Alina Jack. :) The harem was where the sultan's wives and their offspring lived. A very guarded area where some of the young were said to have lost their mind. A beautiful prison, really.

Mette

Sunday 31st of January 2016

I've been to Topkapi a few times and remember it as a pattern of splendid views, intricate ornaments and coloured tiles. Apart from that the most lasting impression was made by the beard of the prophet, the sultan's wardrobe and the non-stop qur'an recitation. It was grand.

Turkey's For Life

Monday 1st of February 2016

Yeah, the holy area at Topkapı Palace is pretty special isn't it. Out main memory from that part, this time, though was a guy continually insisting on taking photos despite the security guard telling him not to. Was itching to take his phone off him! :)

Claudia Turgut

Saturday 30th of January 2016

You have done a splendid job of describing what I think is my favourite place in Istanbul: your photos are great and so is your information! Well done, Julia and Barry! You've done Topkapı proud!

Turkey's For Life

Sunday 31st of January 2016

Thanks very much, Claudia Turgut. Didn't realise you were a big fan of Topkapı Palace. We'll definitely return again - and hopefully get to see the palace kitchens again! :)

Krista

Thursday 28th of January 2016

What an utterly stunning place!!! I could wander those interiors for ages. One day. One day I WILL visit your beloved Turkey. :-)

Turkey's For Life

Sunday 31st of January 2016

Topkapı Palace is a must for any first time visitor to Istanbul, Krista. and if you do ever make it to Turkey, we really must meet up! :)

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