bernard_s
04 Topkapi Palace - First Courtyard
The First Courtyard
The main entrance to the palace is through Bab-i Humayun, the Imperial Gate. The monumental gateway was erected by Mehmed "the Conquerer" in 1478. The rooms in the gateway housed the guards who were watching the palace at all times in day and night. The imperial monogram (Tugra) is the one of Mehmed II, and the other calligraphic insciptions go back to the reconstruction of the gateway by Abdul Aziz in 1867.
The Imperial Gate leads to the First Court of the palace which is sometimes known as "the Courtyard of the Janissaries". The Janissaries were the paid soldiers of the sultan who were staying in the First Court when on duty. During the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 17-18th century, they lost their effectiveness as a military force and caused a lot of violence. The Janissarry Corps was finally abandoned by Mahmud II in 1826 who was a reformist sultan.
The First Courtyard is not considered as the palace proper, it is just the entrance to the palace. There were the palace bakeries and the grounds of the Great Palace of Byzantium on the right side. To the left of the entryway, there is a small Byzantine Church of Hagia Irene and far more to the right is the state mint (darphane) and the Outer Treasury. Just to the north of those buildings, a road leads down to Gulhane Park and the Archeological Museums.
04 Topkapi Palace - First Courtyard
The First Courtyard
The main entrance to the palace is through Bab-i Humayun, the Imperial Gate. The monumental gateway was erected by Mehmed "the Conquerer" in 1478. The rooms in the gateway housed the guards who were watching the palace at all times in day and night. The imperial monogram (Tugra) is the one of Mehmed II, and the other calligraphic insciptions go back to the reconstruction of the gateway by Abdul Aziz in 1867.
The Imperial Gate leads to the First Court of the palace which is sometimes known as "the Courtyard of the Janissaries". The Janissaries were the paid soldiers of the sultan who were staying in the First Court when on duty. During the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 17-18th century, they lost their effectiveness as a military force and caused a lot of violence. The Janissarry Corps was finally abandoned by Mahmud II in 1826 who was a reformist sultan.
The First Courtyard is not considered as the palace proper, it is just the entrance to the palace. There were the palace bakeries and the grounds of the Great Palace of Byzantium on the right side. To the left of the entryway, there is a small Byzantine Church of Hagia Irene and far more to the right is the state mint (darphane) and the Outer Treasury. Just to the north of those buildings, a road leads down to Gulhane Park and the Archeological Museums.