OVERVIEW :

The construction of Topkapı Palace was begun in 1460 and completed in 1478, after İstanbul was conquered by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453. The palace was built on an area of 172 acres, on a Byzantine acropolis, situated between the Sea of Marmara, Bosphorus and Golden Horn. 

For approximately 400 years, from Mehmet the Conqueror all the way to the thirty-first emperor Abdulmejid, Topkapı Palace was the center of administration, education, and art. Even though the Ottoman dynasty deserted the palace and moved into another: Dolmabahce Palace, Topkapı Palace maintained its importance nevertheless.