Sublime Porte

This ornate gateway near Gülhane Park once opened into the offices of the Ottoman grand vizier and became, by extension, the diplomatic name for the imperial government itself. The surviving Rococo-style stone portal, with its deep curved eaves and gilded inscription, dates from the eighteenth century and led to the sprawling administrative complex behind. Foreign envoys were received here, and the phrase Sublime Porte came to stand for the empire in European correspondence. Though the ministries have largely gone, the gate remains symbolic.