Topkapi Palace in Istanbul Marks 400 Years of Ottoman Imperial Residence

Topkapi Palace, situated behind Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Construction began six years later and the complex was completed around 1465. For nearly four centuries it served as the main residence of Ottoman sultans, housing about 4,000 people within a sprawling area of roughly 600,000 m² that includes hundreds of rooms, courtyards, pavilions and gardens.

The palace’s strategic location between the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus gave it symbolic and military‑political significance. It endured earthquakes in 1509 and a fire in 1665, after which it was repeatedly restored. In 1856 Sultan Abdulmejid I moved the imperial seat to the Dolmabahçe Palace, ending Topkapi’s role as the sultans’ primary home. Today the historic site is featured in the television series "Sultanija Kosem," which dramatizes the life of the powerful Ottoman figure Hürrem Sultan.