Museum Topkapi Palace Museum

Welcome to the legendary Topkapı Palace, an Unesco World Heritage since 1985!
Maybe you already know the Oscar-nominated Hollywood movie "Topkapı" with Peter Ustinov or
Mozart's opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio", both of which deal with the unique Topkapı
Palace. Lastly, a tv series about the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and Hurrem Sultan brought a
new international popularity to this imperial site.

With interesting stories and fascinating Information about the Inner and Outer Palace we will guide
you through the magnificent Topkapı Palace in which the Ottoman sultans ruled for 400 years.

Meaning of Topkapı Palace
Topkapı means cannon-gate as the locals called it so because of artillery unit around it.
With a population of 5 people, the Palace was a City in the City. In addition to the Sultan and his
numerous family members, all civil servants from the Vizier to the Judge, the Sultan's guards and
other military units also lived here.

Before the Royal Sultan Family moved to the Dolmabahçe Palace, 24 different Ottoman Sultans lived and reigned in the Topkapı Palace for 4 centuries between 1478 and 1855. Although the family had left, the royal treasure, the holy relics of the Prophet Muhammad and the imperial archives remained preserved here in Topkapı, and since the palace was the ancestral seat of the Ottoman dynasty, it continued to serve as a venue for certain state ceremonies.

The Short History of the Ottoman Empire
Let us briefly summarize who the Ottomans were, how their territory grew into a giant empire, and
how their six-hundred-year reign came to an end. It all began in 1299 with a regional principality founded by the Turkmen nomad Osman in north-western Anatolia on the border with the Byzantine Empire. Further territory was added, under his son Orhan, who first used the title "Sultan". His successor Murat extended the borders to Konya and into the Balkans and moved in 1386 the seat of government from Bursa to Edirne. With the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 under Sultan Mehmed II, the end of the Byzantine Empire and thus of Christian Eastern Rome was sealed, causing a shockwave of horror throughout Europe.

Towards the end of the 16th century, the empire reached its greatest extent. The Ottoman provinces
covered from the borders of Austria to Iran and from Morocco to Yemen.Eventually, Ottoman forces
besieged Vienna twice, but both sieges had been beaten back. Due to the fierceresistance of the Europeans, Russians and Arabs over the many years, the slow but steady loss of territory of the Ottoman Empire began in the 17th century.200 years later, the state territory was limited only to Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and the Balkans.

The lavish lifestyle of Sultan Abdülmecid I, who built the Dolmabahçe Palace as the new seat of
government in the mid-19th century, not only led to the end of Topkapı Palace, but also to the bankruptcy of the empire. This weakened situation was referred to in the West as the "Sick Man at
Bosphorus in the 19th century." 

The Conqueror of Istanbul
Fatih Sultan Mehmet was only 21 years old and spoke six languages. He renamed the city
Kostantinniye, but over time it was named Islambol or Stambul in the vernacular, which eventually
became the name of Istanbul.But only in the mid-19th century was Istanbul the official name of the
“city on seven hills”.Fatih Sultan Mehmet died with only 49 years during a conquest in 1481
Construction of Topkapı Palace In 1459, Fatih Sultan Mehmet ordered the construction of the 69 hectares Topkapı Palace. The construction took 19 years and in 1478Fatih Sultan Mehmet moved into the legendary Topkapı Palace. The size of the Palace grew over the centuries with the expansion of the empire. The furnishing of the palaces proves the immeasurable wealth of the Ottoman sultans. Only the finest building materials, the most precious carpets and the most expensive furniture were used. In addition, tons of gold were used for decoration and ornamentation.
On the land side, the palace was surrounded by a newly built 1.400-meter-long high encircling wall
known as the "Royal Wall", while on the side facing the sea it was protected by ancient Byzantine
walls.

We hope you enjoyed this trailer. If you want to know more about the Topkapı Palace, the world's
fourth largest diamond, consisting of 86 carats, holy relics of Islam, the amazing sea chart of Admiral
Piri Reis and many more treasures, as well as the legendary harem,please download the full version
of this application with detailed information to your Smartphone.