Topkapi Sarayi was originally begun by Sultan Mehmed II not long after the conquest. The palace and its grounds occupy about 700,000 square meters of land on one of Istanbul's seven hills. For nearly four centuries, Topkapi was both the residence of the sultans and the seat of government power.

The grandiloquence that is characteristic of classical Ottoman mosque architecture is absent to a surprising degree in the palaces and residences of the same period and nowhere is this more evident than at Topkapi where clusters of buildings were placed in a park-like setting and new additions were made over the centuries as circumstances required. As a result, one can find examples of Ottoman architecture reflecting changing tastes and styles from the late 15th century to the 'early 19th at Topkapi. During its most brilliant period, Topkapi Sarayi was inhabited by upwards of 50 thousand people -servants, soldiers, and government officials- in addition to the sultan and his family.