Ibrahim Pasha Palace

The Ibrahim Pasha Palace sits directly on the old Byzantine Hippodrome opposite the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and is one of the few surviving secular buildings from the early Ottoman period. Built in the 16th century for Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, a close confidant of Suleyman the Magnificent, it served as his residence until his execution by the sultan in 1536. From its balcony, the Ottoman elite watched equestrian games and ceremonies on the Atmeydani square below. Today the palace houses the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, with one of the world's most important collections of Anatolian and Persian carpets, illuminated Qurans and Seljuk ceramics. The heavy stone walls and austere courtyard give a rare sense of the scale of Ottoman vizier residences.