Official Gazette Presidential Decree: topkapi-palace. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful concubines and scheming eunuchs lived and worked here between the 15th and 19th centuries when it was the court of the Ottoman empire. A visit to the palace's opulent pavilions, jewel-filled Treasury and sprawling Harem gives a fascinating glimpse into their lives. Mehmet the Conqueror built the first stage of the palace shortly after the Conquest in , and lived here until his death in Subsequent sultans lived in this rarefied environment until the 19th century, when they moved to the ostentatious European-style palaces they built on the shores of the Bosphorus.
The main ticket office is in the First Court, just before the gate to the Second Court. In Ottoman times, only the sultan and the valide sultan mother of the sultan were allowed through the Middle Gate on horseback.
Everyone else, including the grand vizier, had to dismount. The Second Court has a beautiful park-like setting. The great Palace Kitchens on the right east as you enter incorporate a dedicated Helvahane confectionery kitchen.
The council met here to discuss matters of state, and the sultan sometimes eavesdropped through the gold grille high in the wall. The room to the right showcases clocks from the palace collection. North of the Imperial Council Chamber is the Outer Treasury, where an impressive collection of Ottoman and European arms and armour is displayed.
If you decide to visit β and we highly recommend that you do β you'll need to buy a dedicated ticket. The visitor route through the Harem changes when rooms are closed for restoration or stabilisation, so some of the areas mentioned here may not be open during your visit. As popular belief would have it, the Harem was a place where the sultan could engage in debauchery at will.
