Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace is a legendary building in Istanbul, Turkey. The structure has been stayed in officially by the Ottoman Sultans for more than four centuries. The Turkish palace is a major testimony to the history of Turkey. There are a huge number of reasons why the iconic palace is so famous a destination. There are a good number of sights on offer.

Sultan Mehmed II gave the order for the new palace to be constructed in fourteen fifty nine after the Ottoman Conquest of fourteen fifty three. The palace started growing on almost organic scale, with the highest point of elevation at the promontory was reserved as the private quarters of the palace. The rest of the buildings stretch outward toward the Bosporus shores.

Topkapi Palace has thirty seven portraits of sultans and rulers in its upper gallery. These are displayed in the order of chronology. Many of the portraits among this list are actually copies. The originals are in possession of a number of European Countries.

Sultan Mehmet II portrait was done by G Bellini from Italy in the fifteenth century. This is housed in the National Gallery of London. What is housed in the palace, is a copy painted by Zonaro, the palace painter in the early nineteen hundreds.

The portrait of Sultan Murat V was painted by Russian painter Aiwazowski in the nineteenth century. While Sultan Abdulaziz portrait was painted by Clobowski from Poland. There are a number of paintings of sultans from painters from all over the world, such as the Sultan Selim II, by Constantin from Kapidag.