Ibrahim Pasha Palace
The Ibrahim Pasha Palace ( İbrahim Paşa Sarayi, also Atmeydani Sarayı ) right at the old Hippodrome ( Atmeydani ) against the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in the heart of Old Istanbul
The architectural history of the palace is unclear. Sources report that he had been erected in the time of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512) and was restored by Sultan Suleiman I in 1521 for his Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha. It is the largest preserved aristocratic palace in Istanbul, which is probably due to the fact that it was built of stone and brick instead usually made of wood, such as the similar palaces that were grouped around the Hippodrome and have not survived. His immense size may be explained from the fact that there was no official residence of the Grand Vizier to its construction and just the beginning of the 16th century, the office of Grand Vizier was equipped with an unheard of abundance of power. After the death of Ibrahim Pasha in 1536, the palace remained two and a half centuries administrative residence for a number of grand viziers, Beylerbeys, admirals and Silahdare, some of whom married into the imperial family. In addition, the palace was used as the Janitscharenschule Acemioğlanları, from the late 18th century as filing the tax authorities ( Defterhane ), as well as the headquarters of the Imperial Military Band ( Mehterhane ), then as a mental hospital, lion habitat, textile manufacturing and prison. The moving use of the building is a mirror image of decay, which in spite of the restoration by the architect Sinan († 1588), Hasan Aga and Sedefkar Mehmed Aga († 1622), as well as repairs after the fierce fires of 1652, 1660, 1755 and 1808 and the severe earthquake of 1675 was unstoppable.
After repairs 1966-1983 today the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts is housed in the palace. From the original interior nothing remains.
The palace itself drew about 140 meters at the Hippodrome along and reached a depth of 50 to 75 meters. The rooms were grouped around four courtyards on different levels. Some elevated terraces of the seraglio are to the former dilapidated rows of seats of the Hippodrome. Due to its location, the palace from the 16th to the 18th century served frequently as a guest house for the family of the Sultan, when festivities and magnificent processions were held at the Hippodrome. For example, in the 15-day wedding celebrations of Ibrahim Pasha Suleiman I. sister Hadice Sultan in 1524, in the days of clipping celebrations of the Prince and other celebrations of the Sultan's family.