Bâb-ı Hümâyûn
Bâb-ı Hümâyûn, the Imperial Gate, stands at the main entrance to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It forms the first of three principal gates leading into the palace. Its Ottoman architecture marks the passage from the public city into the palace grounds.
Built in the late fifteenth century, the structure carries monumental Celi Sülüs calligraphy above its doors. The inscription bears the work of Ali bin Yahya Sofi. Small rooms flank the entrance, where gatekeepers once watched over access to the palace.
A fire in 1866 destroyed the manor-style flat above the gate, called Beytül Mâl. That space stored goods before their transfer to the Sultan’s treasury. The surviving entrance still connects Istanbul’s busy streets with the ordered world beyond the palace threshold.
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