FIRST COURT
MUSEUM ENTRANCE
2 3
8 Byzant ne Istanbul churches bu lt
1
EXTERNAL SERVICES
When walked through the
Immper al Gate 1
you w ll enter The F rst courtyard
also known as Alay Square. The
structures are le from External
Ser ce Staffs. L ke the M nt, Bakery,
Enderun Hosp tal ,Wood Barn etc.
FATIH SULTAN MEHMET
BAB-U HUMAYUN
1 IMPERIAL GATE
Th s s the Bab-1 Humayun
(The Imper al Gate), wh ch was
the ma n entrance to the palace
dur ng theOttoman Per od and
rema ns so today. The gate was
bu lt dur ng the re gn of Sultan
Mehmet the Conqueror and the
apartment on the top floor of
the gatehouse s the Beytülmal
(the property of the Islam c
state) off ces wh ch take n the
belong ngs of the palace off c als
who d ed w thout an he r for
safekeep ng before transferr ng
them to the Imper al Treasury.
The Aya r n (Hag a Irene)
Church was one of the first
dur ng the re gn of Constant ne,
and t was burnt down dur ng the
N ka Revolt n 532. The emperor
rebu lt the church just l ke
Ayasofya. Because of ts
arch tectural perfect on the Aya
Ir n has outstand ng acoust c
features; not surpr s ngly, t s a
preferred locat on for concerts.
If you want to v s t t, apart from
the Topkapı Museum T cket
needs a seperatet t cket
BAB-U SELAM
3 GATE OF SALUTATION
Th s gate wh ch on both s des, has
towers resembl ng a med eval
castle. Th s s the Bab-us Selam
Gate of Salutat on connect ng two
courtyards. The gate s opened to
the second courtyard where the
t cket off ces and t cket control
dev ces mounted on h gh platforms.
These were actually des gned to
prov de vantage po nts for h gh
state off c als and m l tary off cers
who took part n the
D van( Imper al Counc l ) meet ngs.