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Imperial residence of Ottoman Sultans, the maze of buildings that
was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th
centruies. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court
lived and governed. A magnificent wooded garden fills the outer, or
first, court. In the second court, on the right, shaded by cyprees
and plane trees,stand the palace kitchens, which now serve as
galleries exhibiting the imperial collections of crystal, silver and
Chinese porcelain. Today the third court holds the Hall of Audience,
the Library of Ahmet III, an exhibition of imperial costumes worn by
the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury
and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts.
In the center of this innermost sanctuary, the Prophet Muhammet (S.A.V)
brought to Istanbul when the Ottomans assumed the caliphaten of
Islam. |
