Topkapı Palace

The administrative and residential center of the Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries, Topkapı Palace occupies a promontory at the confluence of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, and the Sea of Marmara. Its walled complex of courtyards, pavilions, and treasury chambers was home to successive sultans from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century. The Harem section, the Imperial Treasury — containing the Topkapı Dagger and the Spoonmaker's Diamond — and the panoramic views from the Fourth Courtyard draw the greatest attention from visitors.