Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art

Pasha’s Palace of Art 

In Sultanahmet, you do not have to worry about running out of historical sites to immerse yourself. At the Hippodrome, opposite the Blue Mosque, is the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, which displays artworks, carpets, ceramics, calligraphies, Qurans and other rare antiquities from the Ottoman and Selçuk eras. The restored palace, built by İbrahim Pasha, Grand Vizier of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, dates back to the early 1500s. Although most of the palace has been restored, much of the foundation walls from this period are miraculously still intact. The beautiful garden of this famous palace also houses a café where you can immerse yourself in the sumptuous life of an Ottoman emperor. 

More than 40,000 exhibits are on display. The collection was established in the 19th century and ranges from the beginnings of Islam under the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) to modern times.  

The museum is particularly renowned for its carpet collection. These range from 13th-century Selçuk fragments to the palatial silk carpets that cover the walls from floor to ceiling in the palace’s great hall. 

On a tour of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, be sure to look for an ornate door from the 12th-century Great Mosque of Cizre.