The palace complex is located on the Seraglio Point (Sarayburnu), a promontory overlooking the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, with the Bosphorus in plain sight from many points of the palace. The site is hilly and one of the highest points close to the sea. During Greek and Byzantine times, the acropolis of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium stood here. Some of its remains are still visible in the area now known as the Second Courtyard of the palace. There is an underground Byzantine cistern located in the Second Courtyard that was used throughout Ottoman times. Remains of a small church on the acropolis have also been excavated in modern times. The nearby Church of Hagia Eirene, though located in the the First Courtyard, is not considered a part of the old Byzantine acropolis.
After the Ottoman conquest and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II found the imperial Byzantine Great Palace of Constantinople largely in ruins. The Ottoman court initially set itself up in the Eski Sarayı, today the site of Istanbul University. The Sultan then searched for a better location and chose the old Byzantine acropolis, ordering the
construction of a new palace in 1459. It was originally called the New Palace (Yeni Sarayı) to distinguish it from the previous residence. It received the name "Topkapı" in the 19th century, after a (now destroyed) Topkapı shore pavilion.
The palace is a vast complex with an assortment of various buildings, courtyards, gardens and galleries, rather than a single structure. The main compound is a rough rectangle when seen from above, divided into four main courtyards and the harem. The main axis is from south to north, the outermost (first) courtyard starting at the south with each successive courtyard leading up north. The first courtyard was the one that was most accessible, the innermost (fourth) courtyard and the harem the most inaccessible, being the sole private domain of the sultan. Access to these courtyards was restricted by high walls and controlled through gates.
Sultan Mehmed II established the basic layout of the palace. This basic layout governed the pattern of future renovations and extensions. He summoned experienced craftsmen, especially former inhabitants of Constantinople who had fled to Edirne and Bursa after the fall of the city. He used the most expensive and rare materials of that time, trying to restore the city its former glory. The palace was completed in 1465.
Contrary to other royal residences which had strict master plans, such as Schönbrunn Palace or the Palace of Versailles, Topkapı Palace developed over the course of centuries, with various sultans adding and changing various structures and elements. The resulting asymmetry is the result of this erratic growth and change over time.[1]
On the southern and western sides borders the large former imperial flower park, today Gülhane Park. Surrounding the palace compound on the southern and eastern side is the Sea of Marmara. Various related buildings such as small summer palaces (kasrı), pavilions, kiosks (köşkü) and other structures for royal pleasures and functions used to exist at the shore, that have since dissappeared over the course of time due to neglect and the construction of the shoreline railroad in the 19th century. The last remaining structure of the outer limits that still exists today is Sepetçiler Palace, constructed in 1592 by Sultan Murad III. Thus the total area size of Topkapı Palace was in fact much larger than what it appears today.
Topkapı Palace was the main residence of the sultan and his court. It was initially the seat of government as well as the imperial residence. Even though access was strictly regulated, inhabitants of the palace rarely had to venture out since the palace functioned almost as an autonomous entity, a city within a city. Audience and consultation chambers and areas served for the political workings of the empire. For the residents and visitors, the palace had its own water supply through underground cisterns and the great kitchens provided for nourishment on a daily basis. Dormitories, gardens, libraries, schools, even mosques were at the service of the court.
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