Topkapı Palace opens new Tile Art Gallery in Mabeyn section

ISTANBUL

A new “Tile Art Gallery” has opened in the Mabeyn section of Topkapı Palace, linking the Mabeyn area with the Harem-i Hümayun through a historic passage restored while preserving its original fabric.

The passage has been redesigned as the Mabeyn Yolu (Route) Tile Art Gallery, offering a single, continuous route that showcases the stylistic and technical evolution of Ottoman tile art, from Iznik to Kütahya. Thanks to its thematic layout, visitors can follow, step by step, both the changing use of tiles within palace architecture and shifts in artistic style.

Speaking to the press at the opening, National Palaces President Professor Yasin Yıldız described the Mabeyn Yolu as one of Topkapı Palace’s more mysterious corners.

“This is a very important corridor that connects the sultan’s private quarters with the harem, but in later centuries it fell out of use and was forgotten for many years,” Yıldız said.

He explained that within the scope of the restoration project, the corridor was redesigned as a tile gallery, drawing on the palace’s rich collection.

“Tiles are a very important part of the National Palaces Collection, especially at Topkapı Palace. The tiles displayed here are those that were used decoratively within architectural spaces. Topkapı Palace has an exceptionally rich tile collection. Considering that the palace was built and extensively renovated in the 16th century, the peak period of Turkish tile art, this diversity becomes easier to understand,” he said.

‘The work took nearly three years’

Yıldız noted that the gallery features particularly fine examples of İznik and Kütahya tiles, some of which had previously been kept in storage and were rarely seen by the public.

“With this gallery, we aimed to bring these tiles together and present them to visitors as a whole. Without seeing this important part of the palace’s history and collections, it is not really possible to understand the palace in its entirety. That is why this location was chosen,” he said.

He also pointed out that along the Mabeyn route, the names of Ottoman sultans from Osman Gazi to Sultan Selim II are written collectively on 16th-century tiles.

“I can say that the work as a whole took nearly three years. Restoration projects take quite a long time. We are also nearing the end of our work on the sultan’s apartments in the Mabeyn. The sultan’s room, the Mirrored Room and the Valide Sultan’s apartments will all be ready to open to visitors in the near future,” Yıldız added.

About the tile gallery project

Until 2018, a significant portion of Topkapı Palace’s tiles were stored in scattered depots within the harem. The National Palaces Administration moved more than 2,000 crates of tiles to two storage facilities established in the Aziziye buildings, expanding the total storage area to 700 square meters.

With the establishment of a Tile Restoration Workshop four years ago, classification and documentation efforts began. As part of this process, 9,486 photographs were taken, and 800 different patterns were added to the inventory. The selection on display in the tile gallery was formed as a result of these studies, while efforts to identify matching fragments for restoration continue.

The Mabeyn Route Tile Art Gallery presents, in a single narrative, the Iznik-centered classical style of the 16th century, the transformation and diversification of the 17th century, and the Kütahya production of the 18th century, marked by stronger European influences. Motifs such as tulips, carnations, hyacinths and hatai designs, as well as period landscapes and figurative scenes, can be viewed through the lens of aesthetic evolution and cultural interaction.

The gallery walls also feature large-inscription tiles listing the names of Ottoman sultans from Osman Gazi to Sultan Selim II, along with tiles bearing selected couplets from the “Qasida al-Munfarija,” written in the 11th century by the Tunisian poet Ibn al-Nahwi.

Housing around 250 tiles, the Mabeyn Yolu Tile Art Gallery can be visited every day of the week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., except on Tuesdays, when Topkapı Palace is closed.