Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum

The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts occupies the 16th-century Ibrahim Pasha Palace at the edge of the Byzantine Hippodrome, directly opposite the Blue Mosque. Founded in 1914 as Turkey's first museum dedicated to Islamic art, it spans works from the 8th to the 20th century. Its carpet collection is world-renowned, including Seljuk knotted carpets from the 13th century considered among the oldest surviving anywhere. Korans, Iznik and Damascus tiles, and Anatolian woodwork fill stone-vaulted halls. A dedicated ethnographic floor recreates the daily life of nomadic Yoeruek tribes inside original black tents. The inner courtyard offers a striking view of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque.