Great Palace Mosaics Museum

Museum · Sultan Ahmet ·

Great Palace Mosaics Museum

Museum · Sultan Ahmet ·

Byzantine mosaics depict daily life, mythology, hunting scenes

Information

Sultanahmet Mahallesi Kabasakal Cad. Arasta Çarşısı Sok. No. 53, Sultan Ahmet, Torun Sk. No:21, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye Get directions

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"The last century's greatest find in Istanbul If the mosaics of the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) and Kariye Museum (Chora Church) left you dizzy with admiration, then do take the time to visit The Museum of Great Palace Mosaics. The bi-level gallery sits beneath the Arasta Bazaar, just a stone's throw east of the Blue Mosque. Whilst not as grand as the former two sites, the impressive mosaics here of limestone, earthenware and coloured stones date back to AD 450-550 and formed part of a courtyard within Constantine the Great’s Palatium Magnum (Great Palace) - a complex that pre-dates the Ottoman's Blue Mosque that now dominates real estate in Old Istanbul. Over 150 human and animal figures are present across friezes and a 250m2 restored tessellate. They depict the daily life of times when Eastern Roman and Byzantine emperors ruled the lands. Mythological gods, animals in a fight to the death and hunting scenes are also featured. The mosaics lie largely where they were discovered in the 1930s and 1950s and are regarded as one of Istanbul's greatest finds of the last century - largely because you won't find a tessellated floor from antiquity of this size anywhere in the world. The museum is open every day with an entry fee as listed on their website. Purchase of the Museum Pass – a 72 hour museum access card - will grant you free access."

If you only have three days in istanbul

Museum of Great Palace Mosaics

Raleigh S.

Google

Probably my least favorite museum in Istanbul. Very limited information on any of the exhibits and in general they seem to be not very well cared for. The mosaics that are there are very nice to look at but if I didn’t already have an Istanbul Museum Pass I would have skipped it. Worth checking out only to mark it off places you never have to return to.

JUZER K.

Google

Located near Arasta Bazaar, among a warren of small shops, this museum was created simply by roofing over a part of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors, which was discovered in the 1930s. In its heyday the palace boasted hundreds of rooms, many of them glittering with gold mosaics.The surviving mosaic has a surface area of 1,872 sqm (1,969 sq ft), making it one of the largest preserved mosaics in Europe. It is thought to have been created by an imperial workshop that employed the best craftsmen from across the Empire under the guidance of a master artist. In terms of imagery, the mosaic is particularly diverse, with many different landscapes depicted, including domestic and pastoral episodes, such as herdsmen with their grazing animals, as well as hunting and fighting scenes. The mosaic is thought to have adorned the colonnade leading from the royal apartments to the imperial enclosure beside the Hippodrome, and dates from the late 5th century AD

Bobby C

Google

This muzeum is ok, but with a few caveats. Despite being in the very center of Istanbul, it's kind of hidden and not that easy to find. The ticket costs 60 lira which isn't much, and you get what you pay for. There are two large rooms with formerly spectacular mosaics, but not much explanation about them is offered. The building itself looks pretty old and unkempt, it is also not airconditioned so it can get pretty hot and stuffy. On the bright side its not crowded and the mosaics are really great.

David M.

Google

The Istanbul mobile museum pass will get you access to this collection of mosaics. Well presented from the Byzantine area, this museum takes you over two levels to explore the exhibits. Incredible scenes of hunting, good, mythological beasts and everyday life

C.K.

Google

This museum is included in the museum card (müzekart). And if you’re a fan of mosaics be sure not to miss the Chora Church (Kariye Müzesi), which houses some of the finest and oldest Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul. Just behind the Blue Mosque lies the Arasta Bazaar, a street lined with shops selling items similar to the Grand Bazaar without the crowds and chaos. This overlooked street also hides the entrance to The Great Palace Mosaic Museum (Büyük Saray Mozaikleri Müzesi).

Abdulrahman Q.

Google

Beautiful museum, not big but the collection of mosaics are very rich and beautiful, the mosaics are all from the Great Palace Of Constantinople that doesn’t exist today as it was already in ruins during the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans, overall if you really like history generally and mosaics especially then i do recommend this museum, it was a nice experience.

Mike X

Google

Worth it if you're in the area and have a museum pass. These are excellent mosaics that have three dimensional shading which is technically very difficult. It's a very short visit though and if I didn't have the museum card, I don't think I would have paid the separate entrance fee.

Marcus H.

Google

One attraction I hadn’t been to before was the Great Palace Mosaics Museum, containing excavated mosaics from the 5th century Byzantine Palace. There was a huge amount of information about how the mosaics were originally made, then rediscovered and restored but I was conscious that it wasn’t really Natalya’s thing so I skim read a lot. The mosaics were beautiful though, vibrant colours and lovely designs even 1500 years later and again, only a few minutes walk away.