The Topkapi Palace is the biggest and one of the most popular sites to visit in Istanbul.
It was built in between 1466 and 1478 by the sultanMehmet II on top of a hill in a small peninsula, dominating the Golden Horn to the north, the Sea of Marmara to the south, and the Bosphorus strait to the north east, with great views of the Asian side as well.
The palace was the political center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries, until they built Dolmabahce Palace by the waterside.
People called it as "Topkapi" which inTurkish means "Gate of Cannons" because of huge cannons displayed outside of its gates, those which were used during the Conquest.
The palace was opened to the public as a museum in 1924 by the order of Ataturk.