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PALACES, MOSQUES AND BAZAARS OF ISTANBUL
TOPKAPI PALACE
 The
first palace to be built by the Ottomans after the conquest of Istanbul
in 1453 was in Beyazit. This later became known as the Old Palace
or Saray-i Atik-i Amire. Overlooking the entrance to the Golden
Horn and dominating the skyline of much of the city as it did, the
site seemed auspicious. But, some say it lost its favor being too
near to the commercial heart of the old capital of Byzantium, while
others claim that a new palace became necessary as this hastily-built
first imperial residence proved inadequate as a center for the head
of state.
The chosen site for the new palace was on a
promontory overlooking the confluence of the Istanbul waters, the
Marmara, the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, on the so-called first
hill of the city. The promontory was already surrounded by the old
sea walls of pre- Ottoman times. By adding a wall across the land
side, which they called Sur-i Sultani, the Ottomans turned the ancient
acropolis of Constantinople into an ideal site for a royal palace,
set apart from the city and configured for easy defense. Then the
foundations for the 'New Palace' or Saray-y Cedid-i Amire, that
complex of buildings which grew organically over the centuries,
were laid. Repeated additions to the Palace resulted in a vast sprawl
of buildings clustered over the site, including the hermetic Harem
complex and a number of sections for chamberlains, stewards and
the many hundreds of palace staff. Behind the sea walls were a number
of pavilions, which along  with
lodges outside the walls and some actually perched on the wall itself,
were known by Westerners as the summer harem. These shore residences,
the best known of which were the Yalikosku, Sepetciler Kasri, Incili
Kosk and the Topkapi Pavilion, were built at various periods along
the sea walls between Sirkeci and Ahirkapi.The Topkapi or Cannon
Gate Pavilion was a wooden building that stood at the cannon gate
in the sea walls. We know this particular pavilion, popularly called
the Topkapi Saray, or Topkapi Palace, was restored by Mahmut II,
and it was only when it was destroyed by fife during the reign of
Abdulaziz in 1862 that the name seems to have been adopted for all
of the Grand Seraglio. An inscription belonging to the original
"Topkapi Saray" is now preserved in the Topkapi Palace.
Looking at the Grand Seraglio, we see that it
appears to consist of a series of courtyards, four in all, around
which are clustered groups of buildings, mainly one- story structures
sprawling away from a central square.
Additions over the centuries to the nucleus of the Palace made to
accommodate a growing court entourage apparently disregard any conscious
plan. Each building bears the decorative features of its respective
era, too, and so in all, the Seraglio presents an impressive spectrum
of styles, both architectural and decorative, over four centuries,
from the 15th to the 19th century.
The most logical way to approach any description of the Palace would
be to start at the outermost gate and move inwards through the various
courts to the inner sanctum, the sultan's private apartments, the
harem and the privy gardens.
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