You're standing before the Bab-ı Hümayun, the Imperial Gate, the first entrance to Topkapı Palace. For almost four centuries, ambassadors, Janissaries, merchants and petitioners passed beneath this arch on their way into the residence of the sultans.

1The Conqueror's palace

After taking Constantinople, Mehmed II chose the tip of the ancient acropolis, above the Bosphorus, for his new palace. The inscription on the gate dates it to 1478. Beyond it lies the First Courtyard, the most public part of the palace, which housed the mint, bakeries and a hospital. Further in, each gate led to a more restricted space, all the way to the harem and the sultan's private rooms.

2A Tulip Era fountain

The marble pavilion in front of you is the Fountain of Ahmed III, built in 1728. It belongs to the so-called Tulip Era, a spell of peace when the court fell in love with gardens, festivities and fashions arriving from Europe. It's more than a fountain: at each corner there's a sebil, a little grilled window from which water, and sometimes sherbet, was handed out free to passers-by.

In Ottoman Istanbul, offering water to passers-by was one of the most valued acts of charity.

The verses carved along its friezes praise water and the sultan who gave it to the city.

3What to look for

  • The gilded inscriptions above the gate's arch, recording its construction date.
  • The bronze grilles of the sebils at the corners of the fountain.
  • The reliefs of flowers and vases carved into the marble, typical of the period.
The Fountain of Ahmed III, a marble pavilion with wide eaves and small domes
The 1728 fountain, with a sebil at each corner.

Documented

The inscription of the Imperial Gate dates it to 1478, under Mehmed II, and the fountain was built in 1728 by order of Ahmed III.

Sources and credits

Topkapı Palace Museum (National Palaces Administration), historical information; Gülru Necipoğlu, «Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power: The Topkapı Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries» (1991); Godfrey Goodwin, «A History of Ottoman Architecture» (1971).

Photos:

  • The Imperial Gate (Bab-ı Hümayun), entrance to Topkapı Palace: Canercangul, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • The Fountain of Ahmed III, a marble pavilion with wide eaves and small domes: Svklimkin, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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