landscape photography  seas  denizler  topkapı palace  topkapı sarayı  ancient history  ottoman history  gülhane parkı  golden horn  sea of marmara  steamboats of istanbul  thracian archaeology  seraglio point  sarayburnu  headland of palace  acropolis  

A view of Wonder Seraglio Point in winter from the ŞH Kadıköy Steamboat (Turkish: ŞH Kadıköy Vapuru'ndan Muhteşem Sarayburnu'nun kışın bir görüntüsü). Seraglio Point means Headland of Palace in Turkish (Palace-Saray and Burun-Headland). The first settlement on the Sarayburnu, named Lyngos (Greek: Λυγγος), was founded by Thracian tribes between the 13th and 11th centuries BC, along with the neighbouring Semistra, of which Plinius had mentioned in his historical accounts. Only a few walls and substructures belonging to Lygos have survived to date, near the location where the famous Topkapı Palace now stands. During the period of Byzantion, the Acropolis used to stand where the Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı) stands today.

The headland on which Topkapı Palace stands is known as Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point). Sarayburnu lies at the mouth of Bosphorus overlooking both this strait, the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea. The palace built here by the Ottomans was for 400 years the administrative centre of the empire as well as the private home of the Sultan. This picture of Sarayburnu in the mid-19th century shows the ruins of the summer palace on the shore, and Gülhane Barracks in the background.